Winter Trees

by Carole Gerber

"Trees that once had leaves are bare.
They're dressed instead in lacy white.
Snow dusts their trunks and coats their limbs
with flakes that outline them with light."

Join a boy and his dog as they use their senses of sight and touch to identify seven common trees in the snow covered forest. Intricate illustrations and lyrical text make distinguishing different types of trees easy--even in the middle of winter, when only bare branches stand like skeletons against the sky.

Genres: Picture Books, Nature, Science, Nonfiction, Childrens, Poetry, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Startlingly beautiful book, nature seen from a fresh perspective. Told in woodcut prints, the book follows a child's trip through the woods, identifying 5 species of trees as they appear in winter, leafless. Rhyme is occasionally clunky with a couple nearly off meters, but still rhythmic and informative, moving the narrative forward.

[Clive]

2024 update: idk man, all these winter trees look the same to me. I don’t think I could identify any based on what I learned in this book!

Evergreen trees: didn’t get in time,—skimmed. A good pick, though- identifies trees by their shapes in wintertime. Request next year.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty, cozy, and educational book introduces kids to a variety of trees spotted during a peaceful winter walk.

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully told tale of trees in the winter.

[FM Family · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the idea of this but my main qualm was that the trees REALLY don't look very different in most of the pictures, which I felt was a missed opportunity. Nice wintry read about trees and nature, the story doesn't stand out but it gets most of the way to accomplishing what I think it set out to do. My 2.5 year old was happy to read it, but I don't think that, even if she were a older, it was put together in a way that would help her really learn to differentiate the trees, but it does make you be like, yeah, trees are cool.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book largely because of the lino-print illustrations and was happy to find a narrative nonfiction book all about the wonder of trees in the winter! (I knew it was about *winter trees* but I was just expecting a sweet story about a kid going outside in the winter - I wasn't expecting to learn new things!). And of course, the illustrations were just as beautiful and impressive as the front cover suggests.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a lovely addition to a study of trees, Carole Gerber shows a young boy and his dog's poetic walk looking at trees and the varied structure that helps identify them even in winter. Leslie Evan's illustrations help make the descriptions of seven trees easy. It would be fun to take this along on a hike in a winter forest.

[Danette · Rating 2 out of 5]

5/27/17 Read with Naomi and Julia.

[Kayla Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Winter Trees is a poetry picture nonfiction book for children ages 7-10. The book would be nice to read aloud to slightly younger children. It is written by Carole Gerber and illustrated by Leslie Evans, detailing a boy and his dog walking through a snowy scene and taking note of the different trees they see. The trees have distinctive characteristics that are described and shown through the illustrations. In this book, the illustrations are simple. On page 9, there is an illustration of the boy taping the tree and his dog watching. The illustration consists of primary colors and the basic shape of the boy and dog, and it is very two-dimensional. This book’s illustrations are excellent for a younger child. They are not too complicated, so toddlers and young children ages 5-6 could quickly identify the actions of the boy, his dog, and the different animals in the book. However, the text must also be understood to fully understand the differences between the trees. The book's text uses rhymes in every other line throughout, which gives the story a continuous flow. The book’s illustrations and text do not match the same age group of children. The book's illustrations lend themselves to younger audiences, but the text descriptions require an older child to comprehend the differences between the trees. Even at the end, there’s a full-page guide description on identifying trees and their seasonal cycles, which would be helpful for an older elementary school-aged child rather than a toddler.

[Candi Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book that teaches how to tell the difference between assorted trees in the winter.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book about trees in winter...it describes various trees and what they look like in winter (beech, oak, spruce,etc). Perfect to read before a nature hike!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot. I'm still getting to know the trees in Virginia.

[Nicoleta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tsuga(molid de Canada), tulipan(arborele lalea), fagus grandifolia(fagul american). Foarte drăguță carte despre recunoașterea copacilor iarna

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good if doing work on tree ID, but too lacking of a story for reading for most kids. Could be interested if they already knew the topic. The book is well done with simple features, but just not exciting :(

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pair who created Leaf Jumpers return with an exploration of seven common types of tree in the winter. A boy walks with his dog through the forest, discovering the different barks and forms of trees and identifying each one. Gerber writes with a poetic hand, creating a book that sees beyond the trees themselves and speaks to the experience of a woods in winter. Evans' illustrations are strong and bold, capturing each tree and its characteristics with real style.

Share this one on a wintry evening in front of the fire or in a class looking at trees. The language of the book is a joy to read aloud and the illustrations will work well with an audience. It is also a great book for kids who prefer nonfiction and for classrooms looking for winter books rather than holiday ones. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy and his dog take a walk in the woods and identify trees by their shape and their bark. They gather pinecones and make a snowman. I never thought about a tree's shape before, so I actually learned something from this picture book. I will have to look at the bare trees more carefully now. At the end is a short educational piece telling about the various trees and showing their shapes. I like the pictures, which are simple and in just a few colors. The dog is obviously a golden retriever, and so pretty!

[Ciera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Explore all kinds of different trees in this book. All types are described such as: White Spruce, Bur Oak, and American Beech. A cute educational book to differentiate between trees. Cute pictures and rhymes describe the branches of trees during the winter. The way in which this book was written makes you feel like you are there with the amount of detail. Great book, very educational for all readers.

[Dominique St-pierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carole Gerber's Winter Trees is a wonderfully written book that asks its readers to look closely at trees when they are not at their noblest. The trees in her book are bare yet beautiful and the book gives the reader a sense of how these trees really still shine even in the dead of winter. What a fun way to look at winter through different eyes.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not a great story book, but it contains a lot of information. I'd actually consider categorizing this book as nonfiction. This is a book that can be read aloud to a classroom and used for teacher collections.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely children's picture book, with simple explanations and pictures of trees without foliage. You can tell the species of the tree by it branching shape, and with the help of the pictures in the book you are on your way to being a winter naturalist!

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy and his dog take a walk in the winter woods and discover a forest of trees. Told in rhyming text, the author shares information about the different types of trees. Block print illustrations add simplicity to this very nice winter nonfiction read.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book for its simplicity and for it complexity. I know that is a contradiction but the simplicity of the words, and the complexity of the trees. It is an plethora of tree information. I think this is a nice little book

[Alfajirikali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter tree identification book, artfully composed textually.

[Zonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for winter nonfiction storytelling paired with A Busy Year or or Night Tree. Rhyming text.

[Michelle Nero · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little poe-TREE - learned a little something about trees too.

[Shaurya(aka Aryan) · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was ok

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little long, but not a bad book for storytime when I skipped a few pages. The crew today were very interested anytime the dog was in the illustrations.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great tree identification book by the same author, love it.