About the Holiday

Are your kids already starting to say “Now what do I do?” Or perhaps you’re hearing the ever-popular “I’m bored!” Having extra time on your hands can be a good thing, often leading to unexpected adventures, surprising creativity, and exciting discoveries. Reading is a wonderful way to incorporate all of these while introducing kids to new ideas, people, places, and experiences. With today’s book, kids can log their journey from “ho hum” to “that’s cool!” as they discover that some things are so much more than they could ever imagine.

Thank you to Ten Speed Young Readers for sending me a copy of this book for review!

I Am Not Boring: The True-Life Story of a Log

By Lena Podesta

Want to hear a story? A boring story? Perhaps the most boring story ever told? You’ve come to the right place! This story—”hundreds of years long”—is about “a log that doesn’t do anything but sit in a forest doing nothing.” Sounds boring, right? Yet despite this, the log has an attitude—and rightly so. Because despite the dismissiveness of the narrator bringing you this story, the log proves it’s worth watching.

Sure, the log may not have flashy talents—it can’t even move on its own. Buuut . . . if, say, a bear would come along and roll it over, then you’d see! You’d see all of the critters hiding there and dining on its bark. And when you take a tour around the log, you’ll find that this humble log provides a home for a diverse population of nature’s wonders. You’ll also discover that the log is patient and resolute year after year, in the snow and the rain. It’s a quality that allows for some quiet, pretty amazing, even “glorious” and “life-changing” things to happen right before your eyes. If only the narrator would notice. But you, dear reader, are sure to!

Back matter recounts the various ways in which a fallen tree acts as a nurse log, fostering plants, creatures both small and large, and even seeds to contribute to the life of a forest. Lena Podesta also includes an Author’s Note in which she reveals her fascination with nurse logs and encourages readers to seek out logs where they live and learn their secrets.

Lena Podesta drops readers into the midst of a quibble between a testy narrator and a log who’s just minding its own business in her humorous and educational story about nurse logs and their importance to forest ecosystems. Children will giggle as the log turns the table on each of the narrator’s complaints about its character with good cheer backed up by remarkable and observable facts. A mix of speech bubbles and regular type distinguish the log’s dialogue from the narrator’s.

Kids will cheer on the adorable log as page by page Podesta reveals more and more the plants and creatures that rely on it. Her bright, uncluttered illustrations give children plenty of details to point out and talk about, from a wide-range of insects, amphibians, fungi, and animals. One vertical page and a final two-page spread of the forest will delight kids, invite closer study, and inspire their own observations in nature.

I Am Not Boring: The True-Life Story of a Log is a top pick for young nature lovers to explore with throughout the year and would be a favorite on any library or home bookshelf.

Ages 3 – 7

Ten Speed Young Readers, 2026 | ISBN 978-0593838297

Lena Podesta has been working as an artist in the animation industry and as an illustrator for more than two decades. Her work has included picture book illustration, editorial illustration, character development, design for animation, directing, story boarding, and character animation. Visit her for more on her books plus lots of activities for kids at lenapodesta.com.

National Anti-Boredom Month Activity