American chestnut trees were once found far and wide in North America's eastern forests. They towered up to one hundred feet tall, providing food and shelter for people and animals alike. For many, life without the chestnut seemed unimaginable-until disaster struck in the early 1900s. What began as a wound in the bark of a few trees soon turned to an unstoppable killing force. An unknown blight was wiping out the American chestnut, and scientists felt powerless to prevent it. But the story doesn't end there. Today, the American chestnut is making a comeback. Narrative nonfiction master Sally M. Walker tells a tale of loss, restoration, and the triumph of human ingenuity in this beautifully photographed middle-grade book.

Sally M. Walker is the author of Champion, a JLG selection and one of NCTE's 2019 Orbis Pictus Honor Books. She is also the author of ALA Notable Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917, the acclaimed picture book Winnie, and Secrets of a Civil War Submarine, which was awarded a Sibert Medal. She lives in Illinois. sallymwalker.com