The Talking Tree

by Inna Rayevsky

A king's search for the fabulous Talking Tree leads him to risk his life trying to release an enchanted princess from a witch's spell.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 1990

Reviews

[Jennifer Lanman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This folktale is an Italian tale. The pictures are detailed and colorful using the dark colors of red, orange and green. There is a King who sets out to find a talking tree and encounters a witch, ogre, and a lovely maiden. It was a fun tale to read that showed the Italian culture through its setting, characters and words. The setting was set in a forest and kingdom, it involved a King, Peasants and a Princess. A word they used often was "doldrum". It is a fairy or wonder tale and younger children love listening to those kinds of tales. It can be used in a third or fourth grade classroom. Students can be read aloud the folktale for a reading lesson teaching theme or story plot. After they can make their own stories and do a story plot on it.

[Manda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the landscape scenes. They were the kind that sort of wind and show lots of detail even way, way in the background.
I’ve never heard of this folktale and I’d be interested to read some other versions of it as well as other Italian folktales.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Italian folktale