My Heart Was a Tree: Poems and Stories to Celebrate Trees

by Michael Morpurgo, Yuval Zommer (Illustrator)

Discover the beauty and wonder of trees in this stunningly illustrated collection of poetry and stories celebrating trees and what they mean to the world around us . . .

Inspired by the woods around his home, the mighty forests that support our life on Earth, and the Ted Hughes poem which gives this book its title, My Heart Was a Tree is a celebration, and Sir Michael Morpurgo's love letter to trees.

There are stories from an ancient olive remembering Odysseus and Penelope, and from a eucalyptus that gave shelter to a koala; from a piece of driftwood that was made into a chair, and from a tiny sapling carried by a refugee as a reminder of home – these are poems and stories that will amuse, move and energise families and readers of all ages to appreciate the beauty and wonder of trees.

Yuval Zommer's beautiful, detailed illustrations bring the natural world to life, and make My Heart Was a Tree a book to pore over for hours and hours, discovering something new each time.

Genres: Poetry, Childrens

97 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2023

About the author

Sir Michael Andrew Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the Second World War, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were invested a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to youth. In 2003, he was advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2004. He was knighted in the 2018 for his services to literature and charity. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

My Heart Was a Tree is a beautiful collection of poetry and short stories for children all centred around the beauty of nature around us.
Anyone who loves Michael Morpurgo books will adore this collection. It's beautifully written and has a mix of emotions throughout the book, from joy and humour to heart-melting and emotionally moving. This book isn't just for children it's a beautiful book for adults to read and enjoy too. The illustrations are beautiful, and the whole feel of the book gives the reader a new appreciation and love towards the beautiful natural world surrounding them.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is perfect in every way. Not only does it contain a gorgeous selection of poems and stories by Michael Morpurgo, but it also has the most delightful illustrations by Yuval Zommer. The collaboration between a best selling author and an award winning artist guaranteed that this book would be something rather special.

For my full review please visit my blog at:
https://leftontheshelfbookblog.blogsp...

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 big fat giant size stars

Lovers of The Giving Tree here is your next love

Beautiful illustrations by Yuval Zommer

Michael Morpurgo just another magical text by you & for all ages

Tress - the giver of life and it’s demonstrated here with such charm and truth

[Laura S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really beautiful book, with wonderful illustrations that gives a range of short stories and poems about trees.

I loved how the illustrations brought the writing to life and that the poems and stories emphasised the importance of trees and the natural world. A few were quite emotional, others were poignant and vital.

[Jo Macgregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book, fabulous illustrations, whole book resounded with me so much 🌳🌳🌳 by the way I’m 60 not 6!

[Books By Your Bedside · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazon says this is aimed at 6-11 year olds, and so at 30, I'm a little out of the target audience range, but I adore Michael Morpurgo's work, even if they are normally aimed at children. He just has this way of words unlike anything else that transcends generations. And Yuval's illustrations are gorgeous. I'm glad I got the independent shop version because it has a wall print in it, which is a good thing because otherwise I was going to have to make my own out of the book pages as they're just beautiful.

I never used to be one for poetry. I think it was the years at school being forced to read quite difficult poems and then overanalyse them, that they became difficult for me to enjoy in my spare time. But over the past few years, I've really learned to love them, and I now have a small but growing collection.

We all know nature, and particularly trees, are vital for the enjoyment and survival of all living creatures, not just humans. But I think all the negative press around environmentalism and sustainability and global warming etc can scare people and we end up running away from it. But by encasing those messages into small poems and stories, with bright illustrations, aimed predominately at children, we learn to fully appreciate the importance of trees and we can start to enjoy the opportunities we have for saving them, rather than trying to ignore the problem.

I can't really pick one poem or piece that I enjoyed more than the others because they all had their own feelings and story. But I had a soft spot for the short stories in the collection. They still have a poetic quality about them, and they're just so full of heart and soul and passion and love.

The best way to describe this book is that it's a love letter to trees and to nature and the wider world, and it couldn't be more beautiful, and I would recommend it for every age group.

[Wendy Jansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mooi ❤️