Trees

December 15, 2018
A book of poetry that celebrates trees.Each double-page spread has a nonrhyming poem about a specific type of tree accompanied by art showing the tree in its environment. The first spread is the only one divergent from the pattern, with this pleasant, succinct introduction: "Each tree offers / a story / a clue / a dance / that makes it / its very own / self." These words show up clearly in white against a gray-green late-autumn background. Different varieties of trees along with several people can be seen from an aerial view as bright leaves swirl about. There is a feeling of exuberance. Throughout the well-laid-out book, the art, a skilled merging of printmaking and digital techniques, deftly complements the text, using facts about each tree to create divergent moods--including a surprisingly foreboding mood at the end. Language is elegant and accessible, with personification as the useful, key poetic device. One significant shortcoming: Every tree-descriptive poem but the final two contains a gender-specific--and often stereotypical--pronoun. Some of the funnier poems require gender for their imagery, such as imagining a scraggly white pine as an "unruly uncle." However, unnecessarily, the musical maple offers "her" sap after a long, dark winter; "Silly Palm" wears all "her" leaves on top; the mighty oak is, of course, male. Fortunately, the art for each tree is realistic, if stylized. If the aspen danced on its "tippy toes," readers would still see the same tree swaying in the wind.There's a lot to love here for readers who can look past those pronouns. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)

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February 11, 2019
Tree identification guidebooks aplenty offer information about bark types and branch structures, but tree fanciers know there is something more to understand: “Each tree offers/ a story/ a clue/ a dance/ that makes it/ its very own/ self.” These fanciful poems conjure telltale personalities for 15 common tree varieties. Maple “sings to the heavens” while palm “saves all her leaves/ for her most amazing hat.” Readers may be troubled to notice that trees personified as female often have attributes centered on style (“Sycamore, the fashion queen”) and clothes (“Willow dances/ in her narrow kimono”), while trees gendered “male” get characteristics such as wisdom (“Apple Tree,/ wise and gnarled”) and strength (“Oak stands strong”). But it is the one flat note in an otherwise joyful song. Tsong’s block-printed and hand-painted elements add depth and movement to cheerful digital collage illustrations that cleverly vary location and perspective, adding an extra layer of fun to the accounting of quirky tree personalities. Ages 4–8.

Starred review from April 1, 2019

K-Gr 2-This picture book contains short free verse poems about 14 different species of trees along with sweeping spreads of corresponding artwork. The different personalities of the trees are beautifully captured by Jing Jing Tsong's detailed paintings and block prints, which she arranges into digital collages. The artwork is full of sensitivity and whimsy and highlights the interconnectedness of all life; this is where the book truly shines. Some spreads invite readers to turn the book lengthwise, allowing the tall trees to pierce the sky. Others, like the panorama of the palm tree, playfully dance widthwise across the page, following the breeze. In many spreads, children are dwarfed by the trees' magnificence, admiring them, playing beneath their leaves, or even being antagonized by a windy branch. The reader's vantage point hovers above the ground and sometimes even takes a squirrel's-eye view, as in the delightfully golden aspen spread. Hutchens' poetry personifies each tree, likening some to wise, old grandparents and others to unruly uncles. By humanizing the trees, she facilitates emotional intimacy. Young readers will come away wondering about the trees in their neighborhoods, and the book could encourage their own creative exploration. VERDICT A gentle, gorgeous book to share with the youngest explorers of the natural world. Highly recommended.-Shannon O'Connor, Unami Middle School, Chalfont, PA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2018
Preschool-G *Starred Review* Free verse poems succinctly extol the virtues of 14 types of trees. For example, Aspen, tall and graceful, / dances on her tippy toes. / Her golden leaves like castanets / shimmer in the breeze. A double-spread illustration accompanies the words and shows aspen trees in autumn with their bright golden leaves in front of snow-capped mountains. The wide variety of trees mentioned include palm, red bud, dogwood, white pine, birch, and willow. Poems, consisting of only one or two sentences, explain why each type of tree is unique and special. The illustrations, rendered as a digital collage of block print and hand-painted elements, are lovely and include other living creatures in addition to each highlighted tree, such as people, birds, cats, and squirrels. Tall trees?oak, spruce, and sequoia?require the book to be turned vertically for some poems to be read and the illustrations admired. Many of the pictures have swirls in the background, reminiscent of the rings of a tree, that also make up the front and back endpapers. Some poems are lighthearted, such as the red bud with its pink-purple giggles, while others are reverent: The sequoia holds memories for the Tribe of Trees. Flowing words and striking illustrations combine beautifully in this tribute.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)