Who Will Plant a Tree?

March 1, 2010
New books on hot topics: conservation, climate change, and saving the Earth.
Who Will Plant a Tree?
Jerry Pallotta
, illus. by Tom Leonard. Sleeping Bear
, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-58536-502-9

How easy is it to plant a tree? The animals in this breezy book do it without even trying. “Seeds stuck to the messy fur of an apple-eating black bear. The bear tripped, a seed fell off, and he planted an apple tree!” Monkeys plant fig trees by throwing figs at each other, and in the Amazon River, fish poop does the trick. Leonard's soft illustrations provide an engaging naturalistic setting, but the takeaway message is just how simple it is to plant a tree. Ages 3–7.

May 1, 2010
PreS-Gr 2-"I wonder who will plant a tree?" begins this glowingly illustrated meditation on the interconnectedness of Earth's creatures. Each spread features an animal in a different habitat that, by simply going about its everyday activities, unknowingly plants a tree. A squirrel buries an acorn, a dolphin playfully pushes a coconut onto an island beach, ants march a pine nut into their tunnel, and an owl eats a mouse that had dined on an elm tree seed, then coughs up a pellet that puts that seed back into the ground. The range of habitats and animals shown is impressive, from monkeys throwing figs in the jungle to Amazon River fish excreting seeds from their fruit dinners. Pallotta makes a point of including humans, too, as a teacher and her class plant trees on a field trip. With simple, rhythmic language and engaging illustrations, this book encourages readers to see how the actions of each creature impact the Earth. An excellent accompaniment to science lessons."Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2010
Preschool-G I wonder who will plant a tree? begins this attractive picture book on seed dispersal. In each of the double-page spreads, an animal helps move a seed that germinates and sprouts as a seedling tree. A squirrel buries an acorn, ants carry a pine nut underground, an owl coughs up a pellet after eating a mouse that had eaten elm seeds, and students on a field trip plant seedlings. Occasionally the wording is less than precise: after a fish in the Amazon River eats fruit, the text reads, This fish poops and trees are planted all over the rainforest, which is something of an overstatement in terms of cause and effect. But the short, simple text and often-handsome, colorful artwork work well together to convey the books theme. Although JoAnn Early Mackens Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move (2008) remains the go-to picture book on this topic for young children, libraries may want to add this one as well.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)