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The Secret Life of Trees: Explore the Forests of the World, With Oakheart the Brave
My arms stretch out all day long. I can be climbed, but I’m not a mountain.
What am I?
I am Oakheart, the oldest tree in the forest!
Did you know that trees can talk to each other? Or that the oldest living thing is a tree? Let the ancient and mysterious Oakheart, the oldest and wisest tree in the forest, lead you through this beautiful guide to trees. Learn all about how they grow and survive, the many different types, why they are so important to humans, and tree folklore from around the world. Oakheart knows all the trees’ secrets, and he’s going to share them with you!
This collection of delightful stories and engaging facts will impart a love of nature, and inspire you to look after the world around you. Whimsical and detailed illustrations have pride of place in magical tales that mix natural history with a splash of fantasy, creating a book that you will pore over time and again.
What am I?
I am Oakheart, the oldest tree in the forest!
Did you know that trees can talk to each other? Or that the oldest living thing is a tree? Let the ancient and mysterious Oakheart, the oldest and wisest tree in the forest, lead you through this beautiful guide to trees. Learn all about how they grow and survive, the many different types, why they are so important to humans, and tree folklore from around the world. Oakheart knows all the trees’ secrets, and he’s going to share them with you!
This collection of delightful stories and engaging facts will impart a love of nature, and inspire you to look after the world around you. Whimsical and detailed illustrations have pride of place in magical tales that mix natural history with a splash of fantasy, creating a book that you will pore over time and again.
48 pages, Hardcover
Published May 19, 2020
112 people want to read
About the author
Moira Butterfield
723 books52 followersI wrote my first book when I was 8 years old. I glued photos of my cats in a blank book and wrote about them, too. Now I am an internationally-published children's author commended by the Library of Congress for my work encouraging children to read.
I write in a room between a deli and an art gallery on a small town street. I can see families walking by, and I can hear children laughing and playing. It helps me to remember what exactly I'm doing this for - creating books for families all over the world to use together, and helping children to love words.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
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May 19, 2022I didn't read this word-for-word as it came late to our study of trees and we'd covered much of the information elsewhere so I won't give it a star rating. I agree with the reviewers who say that it's a rather odd blend of fiction and non-fiction. The tree character Oakheart teaches us about his/her life, with segments such as "When I Was Born" which begins, "I once was a seedling hiding inside a tough brown coat" or "Oakheart's dinner recipe" (ingredients include chlorophyll, carbon dioxide and water). Interspersed with this are tree-based fables from various countries. I think some children will be really drawn to this type of learning... not all non-fiction picture books need to read like a textbook for this age group. However, it's also A LOT of information for the younger picture book crowd and would probably need to be covered over several days/sittings. Disappointing and frustrating there is no bibliography or suggestions for further reading.
April 9, 2020
What a lovely surprise! I read this quickly and it would be a great pairing or starting point for my Wishtree unit. I would highly recommend this also for poetry elements, recipe or how to writing, and for perspective writing (as it's told from the perspective of the tree). #TheSecretLifeofTrees #NetGalley
August 31, 2020
There are two things that make a picture book successful--great illustrations, and clear text. The illustrations in this book are gorgeous. You really get a sense of the magic of trees, and there's a distinct fairy-tale quality to the overall book. Unfortunately though, the text of this book doesn't accomplish what it sets out to do.
With children's books, it's important clarify fiction vs. nonfiction. This book blends the two by having the fictional Oakheart teach children about trees through poetry, myths and fairy tales, factoids, charts, and illustrations. But there's little visual distinction (other than the myths using an italicized font) between fact and fiction. Perhaps Oakheart's speaking parts could have been in quotation marks so it was clear he was a character in the book. I also found the structure, lyrical quality, and design of Oakheart's narration similar to poetry, but when you read it closely, it's not quite poetry.
It seems like this book was written by someone who wanted to write a book of lyrical verse about trees for children, but was persuaded by an editor/publisher to turn it into a nonfiction book. This book can't decide what it wants to be, and so it doesn't do either thing well. It's too lyrical and jumbled and unclear to be a good nonfiction book, but it has too many facts and figures about trees to be a good fiction/poetry work. The title is also misleading--the book is about tree facts in general, and not forests of the world.
I wouldn't purchase this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
With children's books, it's important clarify fiction vs. nonfiction. This book blends the two by having the fictional Oakheart teach children about trees through poetry, myths and fairy tales, factoids, charts, and illustrations. But there's little visual distinction (other than the myths using an italicized font) between fact and fiction. Perhaps Oakheart's speaking parts could have been in quotation marks so it was clear he was a character in the book. I also found the structure, lyrical quality, and design of Oakheart's narration similar to poetry, but when you read it closely, it's not quite poetry.
It seems like this book was written by someone who wanted to write a book of lyrical verse about trees for children, but was persuaded by an editor/publisher to turn it into a nonfiction book. This book can't decide what it wants to be, and so it doesn't do either thing well. It's too lyrical and jumbled and unclear to be a good nonfiction book, but it has too many facts and figures about trees to be a good fiction/poetry work. The title is also misleading--the book is about tree facts in general, and not forests of the world.
I wouldn't purchase this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
April 26, 2020
This is a book that I feel had great promise but instead it ended up falling flat for me. For me there was just a lot that was amiss while the presentation was all over the place.
First of all the title is a bit on the too lengthy side while it also provides a bit of a conflict on the subject. The first part of the title suggests that the book is focused on presenting information about trees but the second part suggests that it is an exploration of the forests of the world. Getting into the actual book you find out that it is more on individual tree information rather than exploring the forests as there are only a few paragraphs about three types of forests but not much in-depth exploration of them.
At the same time the writing style was all over the place and this would most definitely be your type of book if you want to showcase so many styles in one place. It starts off with a joke and letter to the reader before sliding into nonfiction. Soon after there is a bit of badly re-told folklore/mythoi before sliding back down the road but in no particular order. Furthermore there is a recipe form, some badly done poetry and also some green movement writing at the end.
The illustrations are brightly colored but some of the characters shown are a bit on the wonky side. As a result they were more or less cartoonish.
All in all it just wasn't my type of book and I couldn't think of recommending it to any other even for the much younger reading audience.
***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***
First of all the title is a bit on the too lengthy side while it also provides a bit of a conflict on the subject. The first part of the title suggests that the book is focused on presenting information about trees but the second part suggests that it is an exploration of the forests of the world. Getting into the actual book you find out that it is more on individual tree information rather than exploring the forests as there are only a few paragraphs about three types of forests but not much in-depth exploration of them.
At the same time the writing style was all over the place and this would most definitely be your type of book if you want to showcase so many styles in one place. It starts off with a joke and letter to the reader before sliding into nonfiction. Soon after there is a bit of badly re-told folklore/mythoi before sliding back down the road but in no particular order. Furthermore there is a recipe form, some badly done poetry and also some green movement writing at the end.
The illustrations are brightly colored but some of the characters shown are a bit on the wonky side. As a result they were more or less cartoonish.
All in all it just wasn't my type of book and I couldn't think of recommending it to any other even for the much younger reading audience.
***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***
August 18, 2020
The Secret Life of Trees: Explore the Forests of the World, with Oakheart the Brave by Moira Butterfield is currently scheduled for release on August 18 2020.
Did you know that trees can talk to each other? Or that the oldest living thing is a tree? Let the ancient and mysterious Oakheart, the oldest and wisest tree in the forest, lead you through this beautiful guide to trees. Learn all about how they grow and survive, the many different types, why they are so important to humans, and tree folklore from around the world. Oakheart knows all the trees’ secrets, and he’s going to share them with you! This collection of delightful stories and engaging facts will impart a love of nature, and inspire you to look after the world around you. Whimsical and detailed illustrations have pride of place in magical tales that mix natural history with a splash of fantasy, creating a book that you will pore over time and again.
The Secret Life of Trees is a nice blending of stories and science. The stories will capture the attention of readers. I like the science and nature information that is layered between those stories, and while I knew most of it already I think young readers will be engaged with those sections as much as the stories. I thought the illustrations were whimsical and nicely colored, but I would have like a few more bold colors and lines. However, that is about personal preference, not the skill of the artist.
The Secret Life of Trees is a book that will become a fast favorite for some readers and families, but it did not wow me.
Did you know that trees can talk to each other? Or that the oldest living thing is a tree? Let the ancient and mysterious Oakheart, the oldest and wisest tree in the forest, lead you through this beautiful guide to trees. Learn all about how they grow and survive, the many different types, why they are so important to humans, and tree folklore from around the world. Oakheart knows all the trees’ secrets, and he’s going to share them with you! This collection of delightful stories and engaging facts will impart a love of nature, and inspire you to look after the world around you. Whimsical and detailed illustrations have pride of place in magical tales that mix natural history with a splash of fantasy, creating a book that you will pore over time and again.
The Secret Life of Trees is a nice blending of stories and science. The stories will capture the attention of readers. I like the science and nature information that is layered between those stories, and while I knew most of it already I think young readers will be engaged with those sections as much as the stories. I thought the illustrations were whimsical and nicely colored, but I would have like a few more bold colors and lines. However, that is about personal preference, not the skill of the artist.
The Secret Life of Trees is a book that will become a fast favorite for some readers and families, but it did not wow me.
July 19, 2020
We received a DRC of this picture book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Narrated by Oakheart, the oldest tree in the forest, this wonderful, whimsical picture book shares fun stories that tell of the life cycle of trees around the world in both a fun and educational way.
Full of stories and information that share how trees are planted, how they grow, how they eat, what animals and insects dwell in them, this fascinating book will keep your little ones busy listening and learning.
The stories are simple yet fascinating, with some leaning towards popular folklore and mythology. There's lots of extra information to go along with the stories. One tells of seeds and mentions that they come in different forms--from nuts, some from cones, and others from fruit--and shares some of those fruits and how you can find and harvest the seeds in the margins.
Oakheart also tells us about different kinds of forests, where they are, and what kind of critters live in them. He tells us all about tree's bark and how different animals and insects can live inside of trees, and so much more! You're sure to learn something new from this fun picture book!
This review was originally shared on Lazy Day LIterature.
Narrated by Oakheart, the oldest tree in the forest, this wonderful, whimsical picture book shares fun stories that tell of the life cycle of trees around the world in both a fun and educational way.
Full of stories and information that share how trees are planted, how they grow, how they eat, what animals and insects dwell in them, this fascinating book will keep your little ones busy listening and learning.
The stories are simple yet fascinating, with some leaning towards popular folklore and mythology. There's lots of extra information to go along with the stories. One tells of seeds and mentions that they come in different forms--from nuts, some from cones, and others from fruit--and shares some of those fruits and how you can find and harvest the seeds in the margins.
Oakheart also tells us about different kinds of forests, where they are, and what kind of critters live in them. He tells us all about tree's bark and how different animals and insects can live inside of trees, and so much more! You're sure to learn something new from this fun picture book!
This review was originally shared on Lazy Day LIterature.
April 1, 2020
This was so CUTE!
This picture book is narrated by Oakheart the Brave who wants you to know about trees, how they grow, what purpose they fullfill, and how their live is different depending on which season it is. Also, he tells tales the wind wispered to him or birds brought to his attention.
Accompanied is this by beautiful and detailed pictures that are fun to look at.
I was quite surprised by the amount of text in there, and I am sure i would have loved this as a toddler. Because I've always loved trees, because this book is beautifully written and illustrated, but also because it has more text than I usually find in picture books. This might be cool for someone just starting to read by themselves, or shortly before that.
Also I want to mention that this was a great way to expand my vocab, because honestly, lessons in school never included tree-specific words.
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This picture book is narrated by Oakheart the Brave who wants you to know about trees, how they grow, what purpose they fullfill, and how their live is different depending on which season it is. Also, he tells tales the wind wispered to him or birds brought to his attention.
Accompanied is this by beautiful and detailed pictures that are fun to look at.
I was quite surprised by the amount of text in there, and I am sure i would have loved this as a toddler. Because I've always loved trees, because this book is beautifully written and illustrated, but also because it has more text than I usually find in picture books. This might be cool for someone just starting to read by themselves, or shortly before that.
Also I want to mention that this was a great way to expand my vocab, because honestly, lessons in school never included tree-specific words.
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 28, 2020
What a great book! This book is packed full of tree knowledge and stories about trees from around the world! I loved the multicultural stories and poems mixed throughout the informational text. The pictures are beautiful and would draw in any young reader.
It starts with a riddle about Oakheart, a tree in the forest, then he leads you through the facts and stories of trees. The book ends with "how to be tree-happy" a section giving advice for for future trees. It's a wonderful mix of stories with nonfiction!
I would highly recommend this for school-aged readers, anyone younger may be overwhelmed by the amount of information on some pages.
Thanks to #netgalley and #quartopublishinggroup for this copy of #secretlifeoftrees
It starts with a riddle about Oakheart, a tree in the forest, then he leads you through the facts and stories of trees. The book ends with "how to be tree-happy" a section giving advice for for future trees. It's a wonderful mix of stories with nonfiction!
I would highly recommend this for school-aged readers, anyone younger may be overwhelmed by the amount of information on some pages.
Thanks to #netgalley and #quartopublishinggroup for this copy of #secretlifeoftrees
April 4, 2020
The whimsical illustrations in this book invite children and adults to spend time with each page, while the text weaves together folk tales from around the world with interesting facts about trees in age-appropriate language. I found the botany lessons engaging and informative-- I learned things I'd only had a vague understanding of before! But the folk tales seemed to be a cursory addition and didn't add to the book's appeal because they were presented in compressed text with smaller illustrations. The idea of combining folktales and botanical facts is great; the result fell flat, in my opinion.
I can imagine keeping this book on a classroom or bedroom shelf where preschoolers and early elementary-aged children could pull it out at will and enjoy.
#NetGalley, #SecretLifeofTrees
I can imagine keeping this book on a classroom or bedroom shelf where preschoolers and early elementary-aged children could pull it out at will and enjoy.
#NetGalley, #SecretLifeofTrees
May 10, 2020
There are certain topic of books that always capture my attention; trees are one of those topics and I was thrilled discovering this book as refreshingly new in manner. I loved the unique style of this book, it's like a secret journal of a tree, Oakenheart The Brave.
The author has cleverly interspersed a medley of poetry, stories and information into an anthology style text that flows beautifully. Not only do we span the life of Oakheart The Brave, we follow his seasonal rhythm throughout the year as we head into each season in turn. We learn about what trees need and the creatures that share their space through delicate imagery and succinct detail. A wonderful children's book that we will be adding to the our shelves.
The author has cleverly interspersed a medley of poetry, stories and information into an anthology style text that flows beautifully. Not only do we span the life of Oakheart The Brave, we follow his seasonal rhythm throughout the year as we head into each season in turn. We learn about what trees need and the creatures that share their space through delicate imagery and succinct detail. A wonderful children's book that we will be adding to the our shelves.
March 30, 2020
*The Secret Life of Trees 🌳
Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Secret Life of Trees is a Children’s book filled with science facts, folklore stories, fabulous illustrations & more!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, however I believe it was a bit too complex for the ages of my children. (Ages 2-5) My oldest has always been fascinated with trees, so he did enjoy learning the facts of trees more than the folklore tales.
I would recommend this book for school aged Children who love to learn about nature, trees & science.
Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Secret Life of Trees is a Children’s book filled with science facts, folklore stories, fabulous illustrations & more!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, however I believe it was a bit too complex for the ages of my children. (Ages 2-5) My oldest has always been fascinated with trees, so he did enjoy learning the facts of trees more than the folklore tales.
I would recommend this book for school aged Children who love to learn about nature, trees & science.
April 4, 2020
From enchanting tree folktales from around the world, to engaging riddles, delightful poems and fascinating facts, this beautifully illustrated guide into the secret life of trees is one that will be enjoyed by readers young and old alike.
Young readers will delight at spotting all the different animals that shelter in the trees branches, whilst confident readers will be captivated by the books ample content, including the important advice on 'how to be tree happy' - respect, plant and recycle.
Young readers will delight at spotting all the different animals that shelter in the trees branches, whilst confident readers will be captivated by the books ample content, including the important advice on 'how to be tree happy' - respect, plant and recycle.
May 29, 2020
Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the fact that it was a mixture of fables/mythology/legends and facts about trees. This blend helped to keep my preschooler interested over the times that we read this title since books with too many facts make her eyes glaze over.
I enjoyed the illustrations, they were colorful and clear while not overwhelming the page- especially important for those pages with more text.
I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the fact that it was a mixture of fables/mythology/legends and facts about trees. This blend helped to keep my preschooler interested over the times that we read this title since books with too many facts make her eyes glaze over.
I enjoyed the illustrations, they were colorful and clear while not overwhelming the page- especially important for those pages with more text.
July 26, 2021
grades 2-5 (PreS - grade 2 and younger read together)
This book has a lovely feel to it, which is really a lovely combination of the artwork and the written content. Not overwhelming or overly busy, more like discovering as you go through it. Maybe a touch like the Richard Scarry books I loved as a child. This would be fun to share and read aloud little sections maybe.
words & pictures, an imprint of Quarto Group
This book has a lovely feel to it, which is really a lovely combination of the artwork and the written content. Not overwhelming or overly busy, more like discovering as you go through it. Maybe a touch like the Richard Scarry books I loved as a child. This would be fun to share and read aloud little sections maybe.
words & pictures, an imprint of Quarto Group
September 6, 2022
A treat for the curious child, combining facts and folktales woven together by the first person narration of Oakheart the Brave, born from a tiny acorn. We learn Oakheart's story and all about seeds, roots, fungi, fruit, and growth rings. I would have spent many hours with this book as a child, welcomed by it's excellent embossed cover. Vician Miniker Chen created the delightful and complex illustrations. Terrifically designed, the information feels integrated and easy to access.
September 7, 2021
There is just too much going on with this book. It's a mix of riddles, factoids, and poetry about trees, narrated by a tree, scattered throughout illustrations. This format made it really difficult for my son to follow and we ended up ditching it after several pages. I flipped through the rest, and wasn't impressed.
July 31, 2022
Beautiful illustrations and a fascinating introduction to lots of different trees.
June 5, 2024
It's great for a read aloud or homeschool. Has a lot of information, but also several interesting stories added int.
April 27, 2020
It is informational and has some tales/stores that involve them. It is a good visual for kids about trees. A good introduction to how they grow, animals that depend on them and more. Really enjoyed.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews