As an Oak Tree Grows

by G. Brian Karas

This inventive picture book relays the events of two hundred years from the unique perspective of a magnificent oak tree, showing how much the world can transform from a single vantage point. From 1775 to the present day, this fascinating framing device lets readers watch as human and animal populations shift and the landscape transitions from country to city. Methods of transportation, communication and energy use progress rapidly while other things hardly seem to change at all.
 
This engaging, eye-opening window into history is perfect for budding historians and nature enthusiasts alike, and the time-lapse quality of the detail-packed illustrations will draw readers in as they pore over each spread to spot the changes that come with each new era. A fact-filled poster is included to add to the fun.

Genres: Picture Books, History, Nature, Childrens, Nonfiction, Science, Environment

39 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

G. Brian Karas has illustrated close to ninety children’s books. He has also written and illustrated several titles, including HOME ON THE BAYOU, a BOSTON-GLOBE-HORN Book Honor winner. He lives in Rhinebeck, New York.

Reviews

[Wendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't going to write a review but then I saw all the 1 & 2 star ratings from people offended by the very first page: A little boy plants an acorn on a nice, warm day a long time ago. He's near a forest by the sea. The boy is Native American and out in the distance at sea are ships. After the acorn is planted, you turn the page and find out time has passed. The landscape has changed, the tree has grown significantly, and the story states all this along with "the boy grew up and moved away." This is where so many are getting offended. Simply because the author decided to write that instead of "white man came and removed the boy from his land."

Here's the deal....the story is about the life of an oak tree. It's a good story. Maybe the beginning offends you, but if the book leads into a discussion with your child about Native American history (presenting another opportunity to educate, read, etc) is that really such a bad thing?

Here's my personal experience with the book:

I found it at Goodwill. I bought it because we have a huge oak tree in our back yard that we love. As I read it to my son this evening our attention was on the tree which is front and center throughout the whole book. Yes we saw the background change around the tree, but we didn't get caught up in the details. We loved watching the tree grow and change.

Overall it's similar to The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton and we're happy to have it on our bookshelf.

[extraordinary ordinary whimsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this one. It's the tree version of The Little House. Part life cycle and part history lesson.

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the creative concept of this book, and the illustrations are beautiful, but I have a major issue with the historical aspect of it. Without explicitly stating that the boy at the start who plants the seed is a Native American, the illustrations with a wigwam and ships in the distance make clear that it is. Then, 25 years later, farmers are living on the land and the author writes that "The boy grew up and moved away." And that's where I had an issue. We all know the reality would have been that he was removed (in some way) from his land. Although I like the concept, I can't recommend something that so obviously provides misinformation on the historical accuracies of events affecting this underrepresented culture, and often not understood by the majority culture.

[Maggie KutsBorg · Rating 1 out of 5]

After a stunning and offensive misstep on the first few pages - the Native child who plants the oak tree "grows up and moves away" so that white settlers can move in around his oak tree - this turns into an interesting look at the lifespan of an oak tree. I don't know how I would share this book - read those pages, then stop to explain the misinformation? Skip those pages altogether and start with the 25 year old tree a few pages later, missing the genesis of its life cycle? The book's overall concept is a good one and I wish it didn't have this glaring problem.

Lying about our history doesn't make it go away. Sanitizing our history "for the sake of the children" hurts the children trying to learn, hurts the people living with the legacy of genocide and slavery, and hurts our collective mission to teach.

[Savannah Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Oak Tree grows by G. Brian Karas shows and tells the story of an oak tree from acorn to over 200 years later. The book also shows the generations of people coming and going, the change of weather, seasons, the surrounding land, housing, inventions in methods of transportation, communication, electricity, and more. There's also a timeline at the bottom that follows the progress. Great big concepts but simple enough to discuss with my 3 and 5 year old. It's an amazing book with so many details.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the layers to this book. On the surface it's about the life of an oak tree. But for slightly older children, it's a history lesson. The tree is planted by a Native American boy in 1775. From there, the reader sees a forest become a village and a village become a town. The older child can also follow along with the years at the bottom of the page to get the full scope of how long it took that big ol' tree in their front yard to get that huge!

[Kate McGinty aka Caryn Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shows 200+ years in the life of an oak tree, as the tree grows and the world around it changes. Includes poster. As an Oak Tree Grows is a great way to help students develop an appreciation for nature, and to see how the world's landscape has been altered over time. While the ending is bittersweet, it will likely leave sensitive students with plenty to contemplate. May be especially powerful when used in a lesson on Earth Day, Arbor Day, or some similar occasion.

[Maddy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was very disappointing. It portrayed history in a way that "excused" our mistakes. For example, the author wrote that the native american boy "moved away", when we know that native Americans were kicked off of their own land, and even killed. The characters in the book were predominantly white, and as the story progressed, it continued to excuse white people's historical mistakes. It deeply disappointed me to see that more children would grow up to believe the stupid lies and excuses society has made. Therefore, I strongly encourage you not to read this book, unless you want to have a discussion with students about examples of books that represent history in an inaccurate way. Or if you want to have a laugh at people's ignorance.

[Ruth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This informational picture book is the life of an oak tree spanning 200 plus years. The detailed gouache and pencil illustrations wonderfully depict the long life of this tree and how the world changes around it. Teachers will like to have this title and use it for history, timelines, and life cycles of trees. Some facts about oak trees are included on the last page.

[Makenzie Muñoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

These Dolly Parton books are so good!!

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An imaginative and engaging picture book showing the entire life cycle of an oak tree, from the tiny seedling planted at the beginning through the 200 years of its life, and onwards. Each spread is drawn from the same view, and dated with the year, so you can watch the houses and boats growing, spreading, changing; people farming and driving horses; trains, coal/steam boats and cars appearing, and clothing changing. It's full of fascinating details. We could probably read this 3-4 times and still have new things to spot.

I see some reviewers have issues with the little boy, but I believe they're overthinking it. Tis is not a historical documentary or a social commentary or even a book about America: it's a picture book about an oak tree.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who has ever paused to wonder what their neighborhoods may have looked like through the years, will be fascinated by this awesome picture book. The book shows the 200 year life of an oak tree, and the gorgeous illustrations show those changes through the years. With each turn of a page, readers find themselves looking back and forth through the pages to note the changes and the things that have remained the same. This could generate some terrific discussions about changes through time and could also be a great mentor text to help writers create their own stories imagining the changes in their communities over the years.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. So much controversy over a story about a TREE! The whole point here, to my way of seeing, is that the tree simply observes. It does not judge. It doesn't see the politics and it doesn't judge right and wrong. As readers, we may choose to tell our children more about the stories the tree observes, but the tree doesn't understand. It just...is. And this is a beautiful tale, filled with change and sorrow and hope. Highly recommended, but discussing the controversial elements with children is probably a good thing.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has so much to offer! It opened up lots of discussions with my 4yo about how an acorn grows into a tree, the different seasons, how a land is developed over time, intro to timelines, plus all the little details in the pictures to look at and discuss. My 9yo was across the table listening and jumped in the conversation and we discussed migration, drought, and tree rings (age/weather patterns).

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique look at the passage of time as an oak tree grows to maturity. Covering 200 years of time, the landscape around the tree changes drastically until Mother Nature strikes and the tree is removed.

Gouache and pencil artwork is detailed and invites many re-readings. This is a picture book with a timeless quality that would make a nice addition to a home library for PreK-2.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for every elementary classroom, this book is a perfect gift for those who love nature as well. From 1775 to 2000 we view the life span of one mighty oak tree as the world around it changes almost beyond recognition. Text and a timeline help children understand history in a unique way. Includes a sturdy poster with reproducible activities.

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

A teacher pointed me to AS AN OAK TREE GROWS. It is encouraging to know that teachers are noticing glaring problems with books like this.

Tribe-less Native people who "grow up and move away" is a disservice to history! A close look at the first three pages of the book is here:
http://americanindiansinchildrenslite...

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

One oak tree grows for centuries, silent witness to all the changes occurring around it.

Karas's Grandma Moses-like paintings are a nice accompaniment to the story.

[Esutterlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations, words, and timeline are very well combined. The enclosed poster showing how this tree grew and how this tree's lifetime saw so many changes just tops off the packaging to make this a valuable picture book for school and public libraries. I'd call it an informational text.

[Ashley Wesner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story about the life of an oak tree. Each new set of pages follows the book 25 years later. The background city changes along with the tree. The illustrations are gorgeous! This would be perfect for an older (preschool age) storytime about trees or nature!

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two centuries of history surrounding an oak tree although the earliest historical events depicted seem dubious at best.

[Liz Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this story! So amazing to see how the world changed around it in 200 years. Loved the timeline at the bottom. Beautiful.

[babyhippoface · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at how an oak tree and its surroundings change over 200 years. Excellent social studies tool for examining society's changes over time.

[Alysa Fenner · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is very easy to read this book and think that you've just read a nice story about an oak tree from it's birth to it's death and then rebirth as one of it's acorns been planted to start the process over again. But this book is a great reminder than even in children's literature and picture books, it is important to critically analyze what one reads. This book skips ahead 25 years on every spread, starting in 1775 with the planting of an acorn by a Native American boy. When you turn the page, it says "the boy grew up and moved away" which is very much a white-washing of what happened to Native Americans throughout the history of America. It then goes on to say "Farmers now lived here." This is problematic because early settlers in America were taught how to farm by Native American people, and it is indicating that Native Americans themselves were not farmers which is simply not true.

While the concept of telling the story of an oak tree is a cool idea, this could have been done in a much better way without white-washing history. Just because a book is written for children does not mean the truth should be hidden from them. This is how many Americans continue on living in ignorance because from an early age, they are taught to only look at what white people have done and are only told stories from a white person's point of view.

[Teaghan Lowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read. It is a book that goes through the timeline of an oak tree that a boy planted. It starts in 1775 and the tree lives until 2000. It shows the progression of the earth as time goes on (technology, more houses, pollution etc.). A tree that was once planted on a small part of land became a massive oak tree that lives over 200 years and experienced so much. I love the significance of this book as it shows the life of a tree and how long these tree’s live. The back of the book includes a big poster sharing the experiences of the oak tree. This would be a great read in a classroom to teach about the life of tree’s and how important they are.

After reading reviews of this book, I realized something I missed. The boy who plants the seed of the oak tree in the beginning seems to be a boy of color. The story then moves on to say “the boy grew up and moved away” and then shows a white family living in who now lives there next to the tree. People observed that it seems to be the timeline of a white man taking away the land of the colored family. As this was something I did not notice, I take note of that. However, I do still find this to be a nice read about the focus on the tree.

[FM Family · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, as many other reviewers have pointed out this book could have been 4 stars on concept alone but they blew it right on the second page. Much like the threat meant of slavery in the book A Fine Dessert, this book ignorantly chose to engage with indigenous communities because it suited the narrative and then completely twisted reality so as not to “go there” about colonization and eradication of native communities. If you aren’t interested or willing to tackle the terrible realities of that time, do not set a book then and describe the boy and his family as having “moved away”. Either make your oak tree 175 years old or do the work to engage with history in good faith. As Debbie points out downthread (in a review that, unlike this book, I can heartily recommend) when called out on this the publishers response was pretty much “this isn’t a book about indigenous history”. Not good enough. I want the publishers to see that this kind of euro-centric storytelling tanks reviews and, more importantly is a disservice to children, specifically indigenous children whose histories and cultures are erased by this kind of inconsiderate laziness

[MalisaDD Aka MiMi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to grandsons before bed . This was received part of Dolly Partons Reading program. Children receive free books in mail for first five yrs of their life. This is awesome program. Wish went up to ages of 8 only because watching the kids get so excited when the realize book is for them. Had tell the 5 yrs old he was too old now while he watched his 3 yr old brother get his book. Only learned of program from a visit to Dollywood other wise would never known. We have plenty books to read thanks to Dolly. All the books are great books. Well written .. books that kids want to read. This program is not available in all zip codes as well.
Far as the book we thought was great way to explain how oak tree has a cycle and something so big strong started from an acorn. Loved the book and the program Dolly Imagination Library.

[Anita · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book starts off with a whitewashed version of colonization in America. Page 1 we see a boy of an unnamed nation planting an acorn, "On a sunny late summer day, a young boy planted an acorn in the ground." Next page, we see the boy with another person showing them where the seed has sprouted with the year 1775 at the bottom of the page. Third page, the year is 1800 and we read "The boy grew up and moved away. Farmers now lived here."

This is a terrible representation for indigenous people. What a poor decision to start a book that totally glosses over the land stolen and people forced from their homes and native land.

Read more about why I WOULD NOT recommend this book: https://americanindiansinchildrenslit...

[Rex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept is great and the art pretty good. The text is mostly matter-of-fact, lacking an emotional structure, and as a result my four-year-old is far less interested in the text than in the pictures. The history-softening remark that the Native American family "moved away" does make me uncomfortable. Presumably the author was trying to keep the focus on the tree and avoid letting the reader get invested in particular human characters. The whole conceit of the book, after all, is to center the life-story of the tree, leaving civilization and its triumphs and woes as literal background. Text-wise, this could have been done more sensitively and effectively.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A visual journey through history from 1775-2000 watching the life of an oak tree as the world changes around it.

Initially, my reaction was to give it 3 stars for the lack of acknowledgement the indigenous child/home is given, but as I continued, this book seems to be really focused on the technological advancements over time. It also seems to be aimed at a fairly young audience because the facts about oak trees at the end is very simple. This fact page was also a bit surprising because despite the title and the facts about oak trees, the book's focus seems to be human growth rather than nature or ecology.