Disappearing Lake - Softcover

Miller takes a careful look at a temporary water system--a vernal lake in Alaska whose emergence and disappearance each year has given rise to a unique ecosystem. Spring's melting snows collect in a low-lying area to form a lake, which becomes the habitat of moose, bald eagles, golden ducks, and beavers. The lake drains and evaporates slowly; ducks and beaver move on to a bigger lake, while new animals move in, browsing on the soggy lake bottom, which eventually dries out and becomes a meadow. Sparrows, voles, and shrews appear, along with the moose who sleep in the long grass. In autumn the birds are on wing for warmer locales; in winter the field is covered with snow, and the cycle will soon repeat itself. Van Zyle's realistic paintings capture the details of Alaska: moose fur, jangling golden aspen leaves, and the faint rainbows of northern lights in the night sky. An annotated glossary and an author's note fill out the text, which--despite the inclusion of the many creatures that are born or visit the habitat--is more of a poetic chronicle of the lake's life cycle than a factual one. Most readers will be fascinated by the existence of such systems, and only sorry that the ``diving beetles, caddisflies, and water boatmen'' Miller mentions in her note are not featured elsewhere in the book in more detail. (glossary) (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.