With its curious plants, resilient animals, tiny old trees and ghostly tracks, the Big Bog of Minnesota has many secrets. The biggest of all--the belch of the methane gas--has yet to be heard. In simple, lyrical prose, the author builds suspense and an air of mystery appropriate to “the loneliest, quietest place on earth.” Matching the slow pace of natural action in a bog, she reveals some: Labrador tea plants keep their leaves, some insects live unharmed inside carnivorous pitcher plants, wood frogs can stay frozen alive and more. A hermit thrush leads the way into the bog in Bowen’s bold woodcuts, done in dark colors with heavy black lines and frames. At first the boxed text (surrounded with varying details) appears opposite the oversized illustration. Deeper into the bog, illustrations spread full bleed over two pages for a while. The backmatter includes further information and four pages of plant and animal identification, useful as a key for the pictures but lacking details. Not a nature guide but a lovely appreciation. (Informational picture book. 5-9)
