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mon arbre
Une aventure au cœur de la forêt en compagnie de Benjamin, Caroline et de leur cousin Robin. Un livre exceptionnel pour découvrir le chêne, les saisons, les plantes, les animaux des bois pour aimer encore plus la nature
39 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
November 5, 2018
Whilst staying with their cousin who lives by a forest, Benjamin and Anna go to visit cousin Robin's favourite tree. A giant oak that is 300 years old. Over various holidays they visit the oak through different seasons and see the diverse wildlife the tree is home to, in or under. At the end of the story a tree party is held for the oak, which was a nice idea.
The illustrations are gorgeous, beautiful scenes of nature accurately observed with an artistic eye. Unless the squirrel situation is different in Germany where this book is set, it would be unlikely to see a red squirrel happily frolicking about with a grey squirrel and in the UK they are quite different in size, which isn't the case here, but apart from that small quibble, I think the illustrations are wonderful examples of woodland life.
The illustrations are gorgeous, beautiful scenes of nature accurately observed with an artistic eye. Unless the squirrel situation is different in Germany where this book is set, it would be unlikely to see a red squirrel happily frolicking about with a grey squirrel and in the UK they are quite different in size, which isn't the case here, but apart from that small quibble, I think the illustrations are wonderful examples of woodland life.
February 27, 2025
I have not read the original (which is called Unser Baum: Vom Leben einer alten Eiche and was originally published in 1991), so I do not know if the anonymous translation as it appears in A Year Around the Great Oak mirrors and follows Gerda Muller's German text pretty much word for word or is more an adaptation (but I am going to be assuming that the featured story for A Year Around the Great Oak will probably be pretty much the same contents and thematics wise to what Muller is providing in Unser Baum: Vom Leben einer alten Eiche).
Now with regard to A Year Around the Great Oak as a picture book, yes, I do aesthetically absolutely adore Gerda Muller's artwork and am assuming that the pictures for A Year Around the Great Oak are exactly the same as in Unser Baum: Vom Leben einer alten Eiche and vice versa, with me (with both my inner child and adult me) massively appreciating Muller's colourfully realistic visual celebration of European flora and fauna and how the artwork for A Year Around the Great Oak is both realistic and also at the same time nicely imaginative (and indeed so full of illustrated detail regarding plants and animals that even very young children who might find the presented text possibly a bit too verbose and complex would or rather should find poring over Gerda Muller's pictures for A Year Around the Great Oak interesting, engaging and also entertaining).
But while the artwork for A Year Around the Great Oak most definitely rates with a solid five stars for me, there unfortunately are a number of niggling little thematic and contents based issues that do prevent me from rating A Year Around the Great Oak with more than three stars.
For one and first and foremost, albeit the factual information on plants and animals encountered in A Year Around the Great Oak is informative and also engagingly presented with enlightenment but thankfully without too much complexity, well, considering that A Year Around the Great Oak is also being marketed and sold in North America, I do firmly believe that both the nameless translator (and by extension of course equally so Gerda Muller) should be mentioning that A Year Around the Great Oak is very specifically about European plants and animals (so for example, that European robins are actually not even closely related to American robins and how European jays are in fact quite different from albeit related to North American blue jays and grey jays), that furthermore, the lack of secondary sources, the complete absence of any and all bibliographical materials in A Year Around the Great Oak is definitely something that I do find a huge academic and intellectual lack and oversight.
For two, and certainly a bit more problematically for me, even though the combination of text and images in A Year Around the Great Oak works well and presents a fun and delightful story (and that I also do not really mind Benjamin running off into the woods by himself at night to keep on exploring, particularly so since his uncle even though being understandings is textually shown as pointing out to his nephew that his behaviour was foolish and could have ended quite badly), sorry, but I do find there to be some casual and frustrating sexism shown in A Year Around the Great Oak (and thus probably also in Unser Baum: Vom Leben einer alten Eiche as well). For example, Aunt Beth as Uncle John’s wife is mentioned in A Year Around the Great Oak but she actually never either textually or illustratively appears (which I do find a trifle problematic, a bit bit strange and as though Aunt Beth as Uncle John's wife does not really matter). And not to mention that albeit Benjamin's sister Anna is depicted and described in A Year Around the Great Oak as picking and watering plants, she is seemingly not allowed to accompany her brother and her uncle to observe a group of foresters at work (and indeed, these foresters are also all male), and in the winter scenes of A Year Around the Great Oak, only Benjamin and Robin ski through the forest, with Anna once again not joining in or from my perspective perhaps not even being allowed to join in (not a huge, huge deal to be sure, but something I definitely have noticed, something that makes me as a woman more than a bit uncomfortable and something that I would also be discussing if I were sharing A Year Around the Great Oak with children).
Now with regard to A Year Around the Great Oak as a picture book, yes, I do aesthetically absolutely adore Gerda Muller's artwork and am assuming that the pictures for A Year Around the Great Oak are exactly the same as in Unser Baum: Vom Leben einer alten Eiche and vice versa, with me (with both my inner child and adult me) massively appreciating Muller's colourfully realistic visual celebration of European flora and fauna and how the artwork for A Year Around the Great Oak is both realistic and also at the same time nicely imaginative (and indeed so full of illustrated detail regarding plants and animals that even very young children who might find the presented text possibly a bit too verbose and complex would or rather should find poring over Gerda Muller's pictures for A Year Around the Great Oak interesting, engaging and also entertaining).
But while the artwork for A Year Around the Great Oak most definitely rates with a solid five stars for me, there unfortunately are a number of niggling little thematic and contents based issues that do prevent me from rating A Year Around the Great Oak with more than three stars.
For one and first and foremost, albeit the factual information on plants and animals encountered in A Year Around the Great Oak is informative and also engagingly presented with enlightenment but thankfully without too much complexity, well, considering that A Year Around the Great Oak is also being marketed and sold in North America, I do firmly believe that both the nameless translator (and by extension of course equally so Gerda Muller) should be mentioning that A Year Around the Great Oak is very specifically about European plants and animals (so for example, that European robins are actually not even closely related to American robins and how European jays are in fact quite different from albeit related to North American blue jays and grey jays), that furthermore, the lack of secondary sources, the complete absence of any and all bibliographical materials in A Year Around the Great Oak is definitely something that I do find a huge academic and intellectual lack and oversight.
For two, and certainly a bit more problematically for me, even though the combination of text and images in A Year Around the Great Oak works well and presents a fun and delightful story (and that I also do not really mind Benjamin running off into the woods by himself at night to keep on exploring, particularly so since his uncle even though being understandings is textually shown as pointing out to his nephew that his behaviour was foolish and could have ended quite badly), sorry, but I do find there to be some casual and frustrating sexism shown in A Year Around the Great Oak (and thus probably also in Unser Baum: Vom Leben einer alten Eiche as well). For example, Aunt Beth as Uncle John’s wife is mentioned in A Year Around the Great Oak but she actually never either textually or illustratively appears (which I do find a trifle problematic, a bit bit strange and as though Aunt Beth as Uncle John's wife does not really matter). And not to mention that albeit Benjamin's sister Anna is depicted and described in A Year Around the Great Oak as picking and watering plants, she is seemingly not allowed to accompany her brother and her uncle to observe a group of foresters at work (and indeed, these foresters are also all male), and in the winter scenes of A Year Around the Great Oak, only Benjamin and Robin ski through the forest, with Anna once again not joining in or from my perspective perhaps not even being allowed to join in (not a huge, huge deal to be sure, but something I definitely have noticed, something that makes me as a woman more than a bit uncomfortable and something that I would also be discussing if I were sharing A Year Around the Great Oak with children).
March 26, 2021
A delightful and enlightening comfort read. I only wish it had more words, more about the different animals and more details about how the people, especially the uncle, the forester, lived with nature.
January 29, 2025
Follow Ben, Nick and Caroline through a year of an oak’s life. From its leaves to the animals and plants that live around it, there is much to learn.
Sweet illustrations!
Ages: 4 - 10
Note: parents, this picture book is longer than most.
Content Considerations: nothing to note.
Sweet illustrations!
Ages: 4 - 10
Note: parents, this picture book is longer than most.
Content Considerations: nothing to note.
January 23, 2020
When Benjamin and Anna visit their cousin Robin, who lives with his family on the edge of the forest, they are quickly introduced to the three-hundred-year-old oak tree that grows nearby. The children build a den near the tree, and enjoy the beauty of the autumn foliage as they witness how the great oak provides shelter for many animals. They visit again in the winter and spring, observing the ancient tree through the seasons, as it continues to provide shelter to the residents of the forest. Benjamin himself is in need of that shelter when he wanders out one night, and encounters some wild boars. When the year comes full circle, and summer is ending, the children throw the great old oak a birthday party, in thanksgiving for the blessings it brings to them, and to the world.
Originally published in German as Unser Baum (literally, "Our Tree"), this engaging picture-book from Gerda Muller is a celebration of the role of one tree in a wider ecosystem, but also of the bond between humans and the natural world around them. As someone who had a favourite tree myself as a girl - I have treasured memories of swinging upside down from the Japanese Maple in my front yard, growing up - I identified with Robin's love for this one special tree, and also appreciated the feeling of enchantment that a visit to the country would have provided Benjamin and Anna. I liked the lessons about respecting wildlife that were worked into the larger story - the children, together with Robin's forester father, are careful to keep their distance while observing the badgers and other animals coming for an evening drink at the pond - and also found the artwork appealing. I particularly liked the scene with the owls in the nighttime, and the decorative endpapers. All in all, A Year Around the Great Oak is an appealing picture-book, one I would recommend to young nature and tree-lovers.
Originally published in German as Unser Baum (literally, "Our Tree"), this engaging picture-book from Gerda Muller is a celebration of the role of one tree in a wider ecosystem, but also of the bond between humans and the natural world around them. As someone who had a favourite tree myself as a girl - I have treasured memories of swinging upside down from the Japanese Maple in my front yard, growing up - I identified with Robin's love for this one special tree, and also appreciated the feeling of enchantment that a visit to the country would have provided Benjamin and Anna. I liked the lessons about respecting wildlife that were worked into the larger story - the children, together with Robin's forester father, are careful to keep their distance while observing the badgers and other animals coming for an evening drink at the pond - and also found the artwork appealing. I particularly liked the scene with the owls in the nighttime, and the decorative endpapers. All in all, A Year Around the Great Oak is an appealing picture-book, one I would recommend to young nature and tree-lovers.
May 8, 2021
Again, this woman is practically infalliable. If Gerda Muller made it, it is worth reading
September 3, 2013
A seasonal story in which children celebrate the birthday of a 300 year old oak tree. The illustrations are gorgeous! They are realistically rendered and the light is almost magical in each picture.
This is a great book for celebrating all of the beauty of nature yearround. PreK-2.
This is a great book for celebrating all of the beauty of nature yearround. PreK-2.
July 31, 2013
Charming nature story with beautiful wildlife illustrations.
November 18, 2019
This is one of my absolute favorite picture books! The illustrations are wonderful and I love how the old oak tree is celebrated and loved! A special story for nature lovers of any age..
December 30, 2020
Ce livre est génial. On y apprends plein de chose sur les animaux de forêt et la nature.
Très bien à partir de 4-5 ans.
Très bien à partir de 4-5 ans.
March 5, 2021
Ąžuolai – vieni įspūdingiausių medžių ne tik Lietuvoje, bet ir Europoje, o ši pažintinė knyga padės vaikams geriau susipažinti su šiuo medžiu.
Per rudens atostogas, Benžaminas ir Ana atvažiuoja pas savo dėdę miškininką. Jis vaikus nusiveda į mišką, kuriame auga ypatingas medis – beveik trijų šimtų metų ąžuolas. Vienoks gyvenimas po ąžuolu rudenį ir žiemą, kitoks – pavasarį ir vasarą. Čia auga įvairūs augalai, veisiasi vabzdžiai ir vabalai, gyvena paukščiai ir gyvūnai. Ąžuolas – prieglobstis ne tik miško gyventojams, bet ir žmogui.
Kartu su vaikais galime stebėti, kaip keičiantis metų laikams, keičiasi gyvenimas aplink ąžuolą. O taip pat pamatysime, kiek įvairiausių išbandymų reikia įveikti, kol iš gilės išauga didelis medis. Iliustracijos labai natūralios, detalios ir tikroviškai perteikia natūralią gamtą. Šios knygos autorė yra dailininkė, iliustravusi daugybę knygų vaikams ir vis dar piešia ranka, naudodama akvarelę, guašą ir pieštukus.
Man labai patiko tai, kad nors Gerda Muller yra olandė, o šiuo metu gyvena ir kuria Prancūzijoje, visus knygoje pavaizduotus augalus ir gyvūnus galima rasti ir Lietuvoje. O mano vaiko dėmesį ypač patraukė paskutinis puslapis, kuriame pavaizduota, kiek visokių įdomių dalykėlių galima rasti po ąžuolu ir ne tik. Tad iš tiesų, tai nuostabi ir informatyvi knyga, skatinanti vaikus pažinti, tyrinėti ir pamilti gamtą.
www.profesionalimama.wordpress.com
Per rudens atostogas, Benžaminas ir Ana atvažiuoja pas savo dėdę miškininką. Jis vaikus nusiveda į mišką, kuriame auga ypatingas medis – beveik trijų šimtų metų ąžuolas. Vienoks gyvenimas po ąžuolu rudenį ir žiemą, kitoks – pavasarį ir vasarą. Čia auga įvairūs augalai, veisiasi vabzdžiai ir vabalai, gyvena paukščiai ir gyvūnai. Ąžuolas – prieglobstis ne tik miško gyventojams, bet ir žmogui.
Kartu su vaikais galime stebėti, kaip keičiantis metų laikams, keičiasi gyvenimas aplink ąžuolą. O taip pat pamatysime, kiek įvairiausių išbandymų reikia įveikti, kol iš gilės išauga didelis medis. Iliustracijos labai natūralios, detalios ir tikroviškai perteikia natūralią gamtą. Šios knygos autorė yra dailininkė, iliustravusi daugybę knygų vaikams ir vis dar piešia ranka, naudodama akvarelę, guašą ir pieštukus.
Man labai patiko tai, kad nors Gerda Muller yra olandė, o šiuo metu gyvena ir kuria Prancūzijoje, visus knygoje pavaizduotus augalus ir gyvūnus galima rasti ir Lietuvoje. O mano vaiko dėmesį ypač patraukė paskutinis puslapis, kuriame pavaizduota, kiek visokių įdomių dalykėlių galima rasti po ąžuolu ir ne tik. Tad iš tiesų, tai nuostabi ir informatyvi knyga, skatinanti vaikus pažinti, tyrinėti ir pamilti gamtą.
www.profesionalimama.wordpress.com
March 31, 2011
This is a nice story that takes you through the changes in a tree throughout the year.
July 24, 2015
Lovely way to explore through the seasons - albeit not completely true to here in the coastal valley of California as there is rarely snow!
June 22, 2019
Robin is so lucky to live right near the forest, and his cousins Anna and Benjamin love visiting him throughout the year. He takes them to see the massive tree in the woods, a oak tree that has stood there for more than 300 years. With absolutely lovely illustrations created with watercolor, black ink, pencils and gouache, the story follows the cousins as they explore the tree and its surroundings over four seasons. The images take up most of the pages with the text nearby, and thumbnail sketches highlighting aspects of the environment. Many readers will relate to Benjamin's reluctance to leave this special place and his interest in seeing it during the nighttime hours. After the children celebrate the oak with a birthday party, there's a little sign asking, "Who Wants to Know More?" followed by several pages of informational text about the life of an oak tree as well as showing how it survives and the species it supports. There are even sketches of the various treasures the youngsters found near the great oak. This impressive book brings to mind the author/illustrator's earlier, A Year in Our Garden, with its passage of time and painstaking attention to detail. Even the end papers feature oak leaves and acorns, and the entire book distills a sense of wonder in the beauty and variety of the natural world.
March 4, 2024
A classic picture book, illustrating the life of a great oak and the family and extended family who gather around it enjoying nature through the seasons: taking walks, building forts, spying hawks and squirrels, picking mushrooms, cross-country skiing, finding badger footprints, observing an owl family and a pack of wild boars. Sweet ending as they celebrate the great oak's 300th birthday.
Bonus: back matter includes several pages detailing the life of an oak, from acorn to tree; how do trees eat and drink, how to determine the age of a tree, a living bug hotel, woodland life around the great oak, flowering plants, mushrooms, insects, mammals, and things the children found around the great oak.
Then, on the back page, Muller notes, "When I work alone in my studio, I feel the presence of a child who looks and often guides me; it is for that child that I work -- not for parents or for publishers." Thank you, Gerda Muller.
Themes: nature, seasons, animals
Ages: 1-4th grade
Pub year: 1991
Bonus: back matter includes several pages detailing the life of an oak, from acorn to tree; how do trees eat and drink, how to determine the age of a tree, a living bug hotel, woodland life around the great oak, flowering plants, mushrooms, insects, mammals, and things the children found around the great oak.
Then, on the back page, Muller notes, "When I work alone in my studio, I feel the presence of a child who looks and often guides me; it is for that child that I work -- not for parents or for publishers." Thank you, Gerda Muller.
Themes: nature, seasons, animals
Ages: 1-4th grade
Pub year: 1991
November 6, 2023
Illustrations were my favorite part of the book. Appreciated the educational value in learning bits of information about trees/forest life. Things I didn’t care for… A young boy intentionally and disobediently wanders off into a forest after dark and puts himself and family in a dangerous situation and is only given a light “you shouldn’t have done that, but I understand why you did”. And a birthday party for a tree seems silly to me.
October 2, 2020
Great book to read for science upper KS1. It's a lovelyly story about two young kids visiting a 300 year old oak tree throughout the year. It goes through the seasons and the life of a forest. At the end of book, you can find out more about woodland life around an oak tree for example plants, insects, mushrooms an animals. Beautiful illustrations!!
March 21, 2021
Knyga nuostabiai graži,bet nepatiko rastos vertimo ar net originalios klaidos-stirnos pavadinamos elniais, prie stirnino rago parašyta,kad tai jauno elnio ragas, na,ir kad pelėdos susisuks lizdą-pelėdos lizdų nesuka. Tad tekstas silpnokas. Bet skaitant balsu knygos netikslumus galima pakoreguoti.
October 28, 2025
If you want to fall in love with trees and forests, read this book. It shows how much life there is to witness even in the tiniest bit of nature and it provides children with detailed illustrations of plants and animals that will make you want to go explore.
December 7, 2019
A brother and sister visit family in every season and spend time with a great oak which is used differently in every season. Sweet. elementary and up
February 26, 2020
Wonderful story coupled with wonderful illustrations - shows the joys of nature and seasons.
Want to read
June 8, 2020Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
June 11, 2021
"Read it again!"
November 17, 2021
3.9. Two disturbing things - 'fall break' and the boy runs away into the woods at night and gets trapped by a wild animal; without these, would be a 5 stars.
February 22, 2022
I just love this! Beautiful illustrations and fantastic end notes with great information about plants and animals you might find in the forest.
December 23, 2022
A very fun informational picture book. This is too long for a read a loud, but an avid nature reader will enjoy this.
March 18, 2023
3.5 stars. Lovely focus on nature. 4-7yo.
September 23, 2023
Good story, but the flora and fauna are European, so limited informational use in North America
April 30, 2024
Loved reading this book as a bedtime story with my two young sons. Our favorite part were the beautiful illustrations/cool factoids about nature at the end of the book. So charming!
December 2, 2025
Ottima lettura sul cambio delle stagioni nella foresta e l'incontro con vari animali.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews