One Tree

The Tree #1

by Marie Tabler

Instead of storing acorns, a carefree squirrel, named Stick, enjoys eating junk food all summer. In the winter, he depends on the food his family saved and he learns the value of saying “I’m sorry” and forgiveness. The story continues when none of the squirrels can find enough food to eat and Stick sees a courageous way to make up for his irresponsibility. Teachable moments mixed with humor help children see the importance of mending families and friendships. Delightful illustrations bring giggles and compliment this character-building story making it appropriate for preschool, kindergarten and on up.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

22 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 29, 2012

About the author

Marie Tabler is a freelance creative media producer for children's material. She is currently the owner of The Art Mill ( www.theartmill.com ) and has done work for American Greetings, Compassion International, Children's Bible Hour, Kids 4 Truth and Nazarene Publishing House. Her desire to help children learn timeless truths as they are being entertained is evident in much of her work. She resides in a quiet midwest town with her husband, two children and a cat that showed up and decided to make herself at home.

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stick the Squirrel eats junk food and plays around all summer long. When winter comes he is not prepared. His family helps him out. He learns why he should have worked during the summer but he also can help them out when they need it.

I enjoyed this book. It teaches the value of working and not just playing without being preachy. It was fun to read.

[Grampy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"One Tree" by Marie Tabler is a story about a "junk food" squirrel named Stick, who preferred to hang out at the park, where people would toss pieces of their junk food for him to eat, rather than gather acorns with the rest of the squirrels, to store up a food supply for the coming winter. As a result, when winter came, and people stopped visiting the park, Stick found himself going hungry. Much like the familiar tale of the grasshopper and the ant, Stick's family and friends shared their stored food with him so he could survive the winter. The following summer, Stick went out of his way to atone for his laziness, and repay his family and friends for their life-saving help.

This story is not only entertaining to youngsters, but it also contains a valuable life lesson: if you expect to eat, you need to do your share of the work. As is further demonstrated by this book, not everybody will have the same talent, but everybody will have something to contribute toward the good of all. In Stick's case, he is able to confront an Owl who has decided to move into the squirrels' tree, proving to the other squirrels that the owl does not present a danger to them. But Stick could not know this ahead of time. He was willing to gamble his very life to help out the rest of the squirrels, in payment for them sharing their food with him. Because of his bravery, the rest of the squirrels forgave him for being lazy, and welcomed him back into the fold.

This story is more than a simple story to be read to put a child to sleep. It keeps the child involved with its interactive questions, and repetitive nature. Several times throughout the book the child is asked "do you remember why (such and such happened)?" This helps keep the child engaged in the story, as well as helping him develop memorization and logical thinking skills. This book is subtitled "Book 1 in The Tree Series"; "The Dancing Owl" is book 2 in the series, and the text implies "The Singing Bobcat" will be book 3 in the series. Based solely on Book 1, it is apparent this will be an imaginative, educational series of books ideally suited to young children. It is certainly worthwhile recommending this book.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Tree by Marie Tabler
First book in a series about trees. This one is illustrated and colorful. Starts out with a squirrel and he is collecting acorns for the long winter months so he will have food.
Stick is another squirrel but he eats what people feed him at the park-he will have no food in the winter.
An owl lives in the tree the next year and the squirrels are afraid so they go to the park for food.
They know there will be no food but Stick thinks of something he can do and it might solve the problem..
A sample of the next book in the series, The Singing Bobcat is also included.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

My little girl loves stories. Therefore, I'm always looking for children books to share with her. She liked this one a lot and I hope your kids like it too.

One favorite thing about this book is how the author guides the reader in the discovery process without been obvious. Kids understand why things happen by analyzing. One Tree has lovely illustrations and character design. Colors are beautiful and the story is refreshing. Love the complete idea and environment design.

The writing style engages the kid's interest and curiosity. The story is simple yet full of life's lessons for our children.

[Alyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marie Tabler offers children learning about courage , family, and love a clear and simplistic story that is colorful and entertaining. For beginning readers, the illustrations act as a guide to help the young reader decipher the ideas they may not understand through the words. The pictures also serve to help the reader understand the words as well. Overall, the story is one that is perfect for young children and can be used as a learning tool to impart morals in an understandable and helpful way.

[Dena Scroggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute little book about a family of squirrels who struggled to make it through the winter because of a lack of food, thanks to Stick. Stick is one of their family members who loves junk food and was more focused on eating junk food than storing acorns. The story was cute and had a great moral and the graphics were very fitting. I would recommend this book to anyone with children.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute spin on the Grasshopper and the ant fable. Cute illustrations.

[Miss Meghan's Class · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book that teaches kids about healthy eating. :)