by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick
Carl R. Sams II Photography, 2004
Lost in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy is an award-winning children’s picture book that is sure to delight young and old. The photographs will enthrall young children, while adults hoping to nurture young nature enthusiasts will consider this book a lucky find.
Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick, internationally recognized nature photographers, skillfully tell the story of a newborn fawn left alone by his mother at the “edge of the meadow where the trees start the forest.” Various creatures of the forest, each stunningly photographed, assume the fawn is lost and offer their advice. The fawn assures them he is not lost, but that, “Mama said to wait, to wait right here.” He stretches his legs as Mama advised, “to make them strong,” but his courage begins to falter as Mama doesn’t return.
When the sounds of voices come into the forest, the fawn nestles into the tall grass, remembering his mother’s warning to “lie still, oooh so very still.” A well-camouflaged tree frog congratulates the fawn for hiding so well and eventually a saw-whet owl warns of someone approaching. The fawn is relieved to discover that it is his mother who has returned; as she licks him in greeting she explains her absence was because he is “a newborn, born without a scent...I have to leave so trouble’s nose cannot find you.” As the fawn spends his days getting stronger, he meets a chickadee getting ready to fledge and a young raccoon who is practicing tree climbing. Finally, readers see the fawn bound across the meadow when Mother Doe decides he is ready to accompany her into the forest.
Although all the animal photographs are incredible, the photos of the fawn are especially heart warming. Children as young as three years old will enjoy this adventure as it gives them a peek into the lives of forest animals.