Publisher does about-face on logger-bashing book

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GRANTS PASS — Loggers made a dramatic transition from tree-killing litterers to kindhearted animal lovers in a "Help the Forest" textbook for first-graders at Grants Pass schools.

An eight-page book was replaced with a decidedly rosier version after the original copy generated criticism for its negative portrayal of loggers.

Parents objected to a spread in the book that showed loggers chopping down trees and various bits of litter on the ground. The text on page 6 read: "These people do not take care of the forest. They cut down huge trees. They drop trash on the ground." That was followed by a tearjerker page 7: "The trees are gone. The birds cannot find homes. The animals cannot find food."

After news broke that the book had been pulled from classrooms, the publisher sent the district 108 new copies with a different take on loggers: "These people take care of huge forests. They put out fires. They cut down sick trees. Then new trees can be planted. Animals will still have homes. They will still find food."

The illustrations, too, have changed. Rather than a trash-littered forest floor, the new edition shows a firefighter and a tree planter, and in a tree there's a bear.

A top official for Pearson-Scott Foresman, the publishing house, sent a letter along with the books. "The publication of this edition was an egregious error on our part, and I will not attempt to offer an explanation," wrote Paul McFall, senior vice president.

Trish Evens, curriculum director for the Grants Pass School District, told a Seattle radio station she was "very impressed that the company responded."

A representative for Pearson Scott-Foresman called other districts around the state to see whether they had the updated version. Some, said Gene Bindreiff, still had the older copies, so those, too, were replaced.

Bindreiff told The Daily Courier newspaper that the first edition must have caused a negative response somewhere else, resulting in the second printing.

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