Imagine learning about animals, insects, forests, and the intertwining ecological system in which they coexist by staying in a cabin in the lush Appalachian Mountains or by living on a family farm in Kentucky. In Prodigal Summer, Barbara Kingsolver's most recent book, the reader is invited into this world to live through a buzzing, vibrant, and sensuous summer. Along the way, Kingsolver, a biologist by training, teaches us about love, loss, discovery, and the nature within us.

The author weaves together three different stories throughout the novel, each with its own history, struggles, and interactions with the natural world. Through dialogue and description her characters reveal their appreciation for and fear of flora and fauna, the reasons that guide their farming methods, and their ingenuity. Kingsolver gives us so much of this throughout the book that there are boundless opportunities to excerpt reading passages for classroom use. Certainly if a teacher wanted to use short passages and had read the book ahead of time, she could fill in some of the context, but I think some parts can stand on their own. Some of my personal favorites include:

• The first few pages of Chapter 9 that describe the blight of the American Chestnut and the efforts of Garnett Walker who hopes to one day "restore the chestnut tree to the American landscape."
• Midway through Chapter 19 (page 317, my edition), two characters begin a fascinating and heated discussion about the relative importance of predators and prey species. Read on for several pages to learn why Deanna argues that predators should never be killed.
• The exchange (through letters) of two old neighbors who have different beliefs about whether or not to use pesticides and whether humans should have dominion over all the earth's creatures. The first letter is in Chapter 12 and the reply to that is midway through Chapter 14 (page 215, my edition).
• The beginning of Chapter 16 when Deanna comes upon a copperhead unexpectedly then reflects on the interconnections of snakes, birds, and cockleburs.

These passages could be jumping off points or creative additions to broader lessons about cross-breeding and genetics, ecosystems, and farming practices. Though I'm neither a scientist nor a science teacher, I found this novel rich with scientific content that engages, informs, and challenges readers. And with my revived curiosity of the world around me, walks in the woods are no longer the same.

Angela Orlando is the editor of The Change Agent, published by the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC). She can be reached at: aorlando@worlded.org