The Wisdom of Trees

Starred review from February 1, 2021

Gr 3-5-This title explains how trees communicate and collaborate in their environments. The text uses a combination of nonfiction prose and poetry to teach readers about the science, chemistry, and growth of trees. Lovely, soft illustrations that highlight a variety of trees around the world accompany the dense text, including Africa, the United States, and Canada. There is an abundance of interesting information about how trees "share" information between themselves and their environments. One of the strengths of this title is that Judge highlights different species of trees and describes each tree in the context of its habitat and its relation to other trees and animals within its environment. Each section indicates the species, location, and how this particular species relates to all trees. The research is thorough and the details are engaging. The illustrations capture the diversity of environments and beautifully highlight the connectivity of forests. Labeled diagrams spotlighting specifics from the main text are an added bonus. The poetry adds a wonderful lyrical quality to the text. The title concludes with additional background on each poem and how that poem reflects real-life science. There is also information on how fires impact trees, why it is important to care for our forests, and suggestions for action. A glossary, sources, and suggested websites are included. VERDICT Wonderful illustrations and poetry highlight cutting-edge scientific information about how trees communicate and share information. Don't leave this one behind.-Susan Lissim, Dwight Sch., New York City

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Starred review from January 1, 2021
In poetry, prose, and art, examples from around the world teach both basic botany and current, even cutting-edge, research about trees. Each double-page spread includes detailed watercolor art, a short, titled poem, and prose paragraphs that extend each poem's meaning. As the text explains: "The poems in this book reveal what trees might say if they did use words." The poems are written in an accessible free verse with a pleasing rhythm and near rhymes, and they include sly homage to both Shakespearean verse and more modern memes. Equally accessible prose introduces readers to the humorously--but appropriately--designated Wood Wide Web, which allows trees long-distance, intra-tree communication through mycorrhizal fungi at their roots. That knowledge, and the tale of savvy, giraffe-battling acacias, will be familiar to readers of Peter Wohlleben's Can You Hear the Trees Talking? (2019). This text goes further by stressing cooperation rather than competition among different tree species and, indeed, by declaring that trees are the entire planet's "best defense against climate change." There are excellent explanations of standard topics such as photosynthesis along with revelations about how many insect species were found on one tree in Costa Rica, why most of Malaysia's tualang trees are protected (home to Asian rock bees, a type of honeybee), and the urgent necessity of reforestation. Final pages offer further information, organized by the poem titles. With the exception of some awkwardly depicted animals, the illustrations complement the text's quality of reverence. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 38.9% of actual size.) Recommended reading, from mycorrhizal fungi to canopy. (glossary, sources, websites) (Informational picture book/poetry. 8-12)

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Starred review from April 5, 2021
In author-illustrator Judge’s comprehensive nonfiction picture book, free verse poems from the perspective of trees occur alongside factual paragraphs of supplementary prose. The collection conveys trees’ “secret language... that allows them to work together in communities,” forming symbiotic relationships with fungi, insects, and animals, and “sending chemical and electrical signals, like secret codes,” to benefit each other and their ecosystems. Scenes and species spotlighted from the Americas, Europe, and Asia drive home trees’ global significance, as well as ecologists’ assertion that trees are “our planet’s best defense against climate change.” Elegant watercolor and pencil illustrations in a naturalistic color palette adeptly portray flora and fauna, encouraging readers to dwell on each detail and making for an accessible, rousing resource. Back matter includes an author’s note, more about fungi, the life spans of trees, and additional details about the tree species pictured. Ages 5–8.