Maxine loves her giant tree in the Walbran Valley, but as she gazes at clearcuts from the car window, she worries. What if her tree is gone? Her family and friends trek through the old growth forest, and Maxine runs on ahead to check. Yes, her tree is there. She stands at its foot and listens, but it doesn't make its special sound, "Keer, keer." She will soon learn that "Keer, keer" is the sound a marbled murrelet (a mamu) makes. The mamu is an endangered seabird that flies far from the sea to nest in the high flat branches of the Sitka spruce. When a tree-climber confirms the presence of a mamu nest, Maxine's tree will be safe forever.
"The book displays a heart-felt deep-rooted concern for the environment...(it would) work well in a lesson the classroom concerning the rain forest, clear-cutting and the struggle in the early 1990s to preserve the old growth forest..."
In this sequel to Maxine’sTree, Maxine, returning to Walbran Valley, is delighted her favourite tree, a giant Sitka spruce, has not been cut. With her ear to the trunk, Maxine listens for the familiar sound she always hears. The tree is silent. A biologist appears, throws ropes into the Sitka and climbs up. She is looking for signs of the endangered marbled murrelet, a bird that nests in giant conifers. She finds the evidence she seeks. The bird had nested there but has recently departed. The sound Maxine usually heard was that of the family of murrelets! Many animals of the Pacific Coast can be spotted in the lush illustrations.
Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. BC Books for BC Schools. 2006-2007.