"One soft fine day
a doctor named Gunnar
bought a meadow called Betts.

The land was as dry
as an old cowpie, empty
of critters--even the coyote."

ISBN 0-7613-2115-2            Lerner Books      

So begins The Shape of Betts Meadow, an inspiring poem that tells the story of a wetlands in Eastern Washington State. This valley--once lush with native grasses and wildlife that had been attracted to the water that coursed through it--had been made barren when taken over for pasture. Its streams rerouted.

In this true story, Dr. Gunnar Holmquist, together with his mother, Lavinia, purchases Betts Meadow. Gunnar sets aside his stethoscope and sits himself behind a wheel of a dragline crane to begin a deeply satisfying job. As you will see in this book, one person can make a difference.

A John Burroughs Nature Book For Young Readers 2002

“A Lyrical Ode to Wetlands”