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The Star in the Sycamore: Discovering Nature's Hidden Virtues in the Wild Nearby
For Tom Springer, the usual four seasons can't begin to describe the mini-solstices of a Midwestern "Does summer really begin on June 21? No, the first ripe Michigan strawberries say summer to me ... just as a sumac that flames crimson in an August fencerow sends up the first semaphore flag of autumn. While these milestones aren't measured by celestial reckoning, learning to know and observe them can greatly enrich a life."
The Star in the Sycamore takes readers on a journey of rare insight and local discovery. In the ecstasy of a dusk feeding frenzy, Springer catches a slew of fat bass and toothsome pike in "a little river gone wild in the city." In his love for country dogs, un-pampered on their beds of barn straw, he sees an ancient link to musky, wild pleasures that "fur babies" will never know. In his quest to learn dozens of star constellations, he reveals a striking connection between stars, trees and souls.
Along the way, he meets people forever changed and healed by wildness. A combat soldier on a flight home, whose agitated demeanor grows calm and joyful as he describes an upcoming leave in the north woods. A burned-out nonprofit executive who becomes a native plant herbalist to cure herself and then the bodies and psyches of others. Through it all, Springer weaves humor, grace and a luminous sense of the ordinary.
The Star in the Sycamore takes readers on a journey of rare insight and local discovery. In the ecstasy of a dusk feeding frenzy, Springer catches a slew of fat bass and toothsome pike in "a little river gone wild in the city." In his love for country dogs, un-pampered on their beds of barn straw, he sees an ancient link to musky, wild pleasures that "fur babies" will never know. In his quest to learn dozens of star constellations, he reveals a striking connection between stars, trees and souls.
Along the way, he meets people forever changed and healed by wildness. A combat soldier on a flight home, whose agitated demeanor grows calm and joyful as he describes an upcoming leave in the north woods. A burned-out nonprofit executive who becomes a native plant herbalist to cure herself and then the bodies and psyches of others. Through it all, Springer weaves humor, grace and a luminous sense of the ordinary.
318 pages, Hardcover
Published July 7, 2020
8 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Tom Springer
11 books5 followersTom Springer lives in a 19th century Michigan farmhouse on four acres where he gardens, fishes, serves as a township trustee, tends 40 species of trees -- and mistrusts any tool that's more complex than a pitch fork. He has worked in corporate communications for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and in environmental research for the University of Notre Dame.
Tom's collection of essays, "The Star in the Sycamore," has been named a Michigan Notable Book for 2021 by the Library of Michigan. His earlier collection of essays, "Looking for Hickories," (University of Michigan Press) was named a Michigan Notable Book in 2009 and is now in its fourth printing. Apart from his books, Tom's writing appears in publications such as Michigan Blue, Notre Dame Magazine and The Front Porch Republic.
He earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Western Michigan University and holds a master's degree environmental journalism from Michigan State University.
Tom's collection of essays, "The Star in the Sycamore," has been named a Michigan Notable Book for 2021 by the Library of Michigan. His earlier collection of essays, "Looking for Hickories," (University of Michigan Press) was named a Michigan Notable Book in 2009 and is now in its fourth printing. Apart from his books, Tom's writing appears in publications such as Michigan Blue, Notre Dame Magazine and The Front Porch Republic.
He earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Western Michigan University and holds a master's degree environmental journalism from Michigan State University.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 13, 2022
This was a gift, in more ways than one. The author visited my mom's book club this past fall, and she bought the book for me because she knows I enjoy nature writing. She also enjoys keeping me connected to my midwestern roots. [See p. 257 for his insightful cp. of "rooted" versus "rootbound."] Springer signed the book, "Here's to good books in Boston [where I work now]...and even in Michigan." I understand that self-deprecation (and find it an appealing quality) but having lived in the northeast where there's plenty of snobbery toward other regions, I felt ashamed, as if I myself had mocked him. Something I wouldn't have done before reading his book but certainly wouldn't after. I hope my good review compensates.
Springer writes excellently, engagingly, and I appreciated that his acknolwedgments listing his writing exemplars. Widely-read but no name dropper. Spiritual; written by a religious man with references to what is obviously an essential part of him; not something he’s trying to enforce but impart. I always take notes on the inside back cover (and as many pages as necessary) and was listing authors he mentioned, several new to me. I've written before, a book that leads me to other books garners my highest regard. His top authors are quite a group: Aldo Leopold, Donald Culross Peattie [new to me], Wallace Stegner and E.B. White. [I shouldn't expect a journalist to use the Oxford comma, but hmmm...I may not be able to forgive that. Kidding.]
43 Springer declares he’s a “self-appointed lay naturalist.”
7”modern tech usually insulates us…[from]the seasonal wisdom of our ancestors
9 “all discipline should lead to freedom, not enslavement” for ex/ a sapling tree and its guide wire
47 The sycamore; 83 “exalts in winter’s light”
52 “three indolent cats seem to have struck a non-aggression pact” made me laugh out loud on the subway
59 He’s Inspiring me to get a plastic star chart. The iPhone app just didn’t do it for me.
“Keen” is of Germanic origin
I’ve never seen Dutchman’s breeches
Richard Louv “nature deficit disorder”
193 “God’s leaf blower”
201 share fishing narrative with Joe
209 “And to loan [a book] was worth the risk, because the power of its truth outweighed the fear of its loss.
214 “nature’s side of the story”
234 ff BIOMIMICRY
241 We should write a “to-be” rather than a “to-do” list
248 grieving not only for loss of a life but loss of a daily routine—I know that sense.
252 I shouldn’t have been surprised to see a name known to me but nevertheless
281 “aperture of the universe” James 1: 23-4
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like
Springer writes excellently, engagingly, and I appreciated that his acknolwedgments listing his writing exemplars. Widely-read but no name dropper. Spiritual; written by a religious man with references to what is obviously an essential part of him; not something he’s trying to enforce but impart. I always take notes on the inside back cover (and as many pages as necessary) and was listing authors he mentioned, several new to me. I've written before, a book that leads me to other books garners my highest regard. His top authors are quite a group: Aldo Leopold, Donald Culross Peattie [new to me], Wallace Stegner and E.B. White. [I shouldn't expect a journalist to use the Oxford comma, but hmmm...I may not be able to forgive that. Kidding.]
43 Springer declares he’s a “self-appointed lay naturalist.”
7”modern tech usually insulates us…[from]the seasonal wisdom of our ancestors
9 “all discipline should lead to freedom, not enslavement” for ex/ a sapling tree and its guide wire
47 The sycamore; 83 “exalts in winter’s light”
52 “three indolent cats seem to have struck a non-aggression pact” made me laugh out loud on the subway
59 He’s Inspiring me to get a plastic star chart. The iPhone app just didn’t do it for me.
“Keen” is of Germanic origin
I’ve never seen Dutchman’s breeches
Richard Louv “nature deficit disorder”
193 “God’s leaf blower”
201 share fishing narrative with Joe
209 “And to loan [a book] was worth the risk, because the power of its truth outweighed the fear of its loss.
214 “nature’s side of the story”
234 ff BIOMIMICRY
241 We should write a “to-be” rather than a “to-do” list
248 grieving not only for loss of a life but loss of a daily routine—I know that sense.
252 I shouldn’t have been surprised to see a name known to me but nevertheless
281 “aperture of the universe” James 1: 23-4
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like
September 25, 2020
Original review can be found at: http://www.nerdprobs.com/books/book-r...
When I saw that the author had written another book, I literally squealed with delight and asked where I could purchase this book. I have been waiting and waiting for the author to write a second book…12 years to be exact. I promptly went to Amazon and bought the book and then patiently waited longer than I should have for it to come in the mail. When it did I dropped everything and started it that very day.
Okay, a moment of honesty guys…the author is actually my Uncle. As I said above I have been waiting 12 long years for this long-awaited second book. I will certainly try to not be biased in my review but I cannot promise anything. This book was abolsutly amazing. I didn’t want to put it down, I kept sneak reading during the day, which I haven’t done to a book in ages. This book isn’t a book with a storyline so if that is what you are looking for this isn’t it. Instead, it is a collection of essays and stories that he has collected over the years. The book is broken down by seasons and the stories in each of the sections have a title and usually pertain to the season that they fall in. Each of the stories has a moral or a lesson to them and it’s usually from nature. Be it from the uncontrolled grass fire that he started while burning years worth of debris from his yard or the mammoth fish that he caught in a defunct damn in Three Rivers.
While some of these stories I have heard before or read in various magazines that he has written for they still made me laugh just as hard as before. What I didn’t count on, was him making me cry. The story about my Grandfather passing and him putting his dog Mel Mel down just struck a cord and I cried. So be forewarned you may need tissues. The way that he writes is very thought provoking and on several occastion made me think about what he was writing about in a whole new way. He writes to the people’s people. It isn’t condicending and its relatable on so many levels. I will honestly say that this book did get me out of a book funk that I was in, and I am just not saying that because he is my uncle. I couldn’t get into anything and if I did read a book I was totally putting my heart into reading it. This book made me giggle and I think that help. So go out and get your copy today and enjoy!
When I saw that the author had written another book, I literally squealed with delight and asked where I could purchase this book. I have been waiting and waiting for the author to write a second book…12 years to be exact. I promptly went to Amazon and bought the book and then patiently waited longer than I should have for it to come in the mail. When it did I dropped everything and started it that very day.
Okay, a moment of honesty guys…the author is actually my Uncle. As I said above I have been waiting 12 long years for this long-awaited second book. I will certainly try to not be biased in my review but I cannot promise anything. This book was abolsutly amazing. I didn’t want to put it down, I kept sneak reading during the day, which I haven’t done to a book in ages. This book isn’t a book with a storyline so if that is what you are looking for this isn’t it. Instead, it is a collection of essays and stories that he has collected over the years. The book is broken down by seasons and the stories in each of the sections have a title and usually pertain to the season that they fall in. Each of the stories has a moral or a lesson to them and it’s usually from nature. Be it from the uncontrolled grass fire that he started while burning years worth of debris from his yard or the mammoth fish that he caught in a defunct damn in Three Rivers.
While some of these stories I have heard before or read in various magazines that he has written for they still made me laugh just as hard as before. What I didn’t count on, was him making me cry. The story about my Grandfather passing and him putting his dog Mel Mel down just struck a cord and I cried. So be forewarned you may need tissues. The way that he writes is very thought provoking and on several occastion made me think about what he was writing about in a whole new way. He writes to the people’s people. It isn’t condicending and its relatable on so many levels. I will honestly say that this book did get me out of a book funk that I was in, and I am just not saying that because he is my uncle. I couldn’t get into anything and if I did read a book I was totally putting my heart into reading it. This book made me giggle and I think that help. So go out and get your copy today and enjoy!
January 5, 2021
I found this collection of essays to be exactly the tonic I needed during the unbalanced times we live in. The natural world is always a comfort and inspiration, but Tom Springer has a way of making it matter even more by bringing substance and insight to the intersection of nature and humankind. These stories are remarkably succinct, using an economy of words to convey some big ideas. As with the author’s first collection of delightful essays, “Looking for Hickories,” I found myself rationing the reading because finishing each story brought me closer to the book’s end. However, because the book reads almost like a devotional, I am sure to pick it up many times through years of seasons to relive many evocative moments. The book artwork contributed by Patrick Dengate is remarkable and rendered beautifully in the printing. The hardcover edition even comes with the art printed in color both directly on the hardcover AND on the slipcover, making it a book worthy of any coffee or bedside table in the homes of lovers of nature and finely wrought prose.
December 8, 2023
I loved this.
It's a series of short stories and essays. No need to speed through it. I read it at a leisurely pace. I am from Michigan, so I think that made me warm up to his stories even more because I know the places, history, fauna and flora.
He has a good sense of humor but also excellent diction that draws you in. It's a relaxing read that also can give you things to think about.
Tom does bring his Christian faith into some parts of the story. That immediately turned me off initially. But then I picked up the book again because I liked his writing so much. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he would bring his faith into moments, but that it wasn't preachy. Someone who isn't Christian can read this no problem. It's a part of his narrative and faith rather than something his reader must subscribe to.
All in all, a very pleasant, relaxing read.
It's a series of short stories and essays. No need to speed through it. I read it at a leisurely pace. I am from Michigan, so I think that made me warm up to his stories even more because I know the places, history, fauna and flora.
He has a good sense of humor but also excellent diction that draws you in. It's a relaxing read that also can give you things to think about.
Tom does bring his Christian faith into some parts of the story. That immediately turned me off initially. But then I picked up the book again because I liked his writing so much. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he would bring his faith into moments, but that it wasn't preachy. Someone who isn't Christian can read this no problem. It's a part of his narrative and faith rather than something his reader must subscribe to.
All in all, a very pleasant, relaxing read.
November 18, 2020
An extraordinary collection of essays on Michigan's natural world, well-written and pleasurably self-effacing. It didn't make me feel inadequate about my knowledge of nature in the way that Heartland Habitats: 265 Midwest Nature Walks did, but rather approached its varied subjects with a deep curiosity.
November 19, 2023
Excellent book. Our 57th Retirement Read Aloud
March 15, 2025
Read for the Nature Center's book club. Excellent!!
January 9, 2021
A brilliant collection of essays that reminds us of our place in a world of wonder and the ordinary.
Tom Springer has done it again with his latest book, The Star in the Sycamore. In his accessible yet brilliant manner, Tom presents the reader with the fascinating in the mundane, the wildness in the civilized, the lesson within the anecdote, and the common sense in a world of extremes. This series of essays covers the lives and environs of his Midwestern roots and home. He writes with simple grace and with a thirst for knowledge through observation and education that connects with the reader effortlessly. While reading this book, I pondered, laughed, wondered, and learned. At times, I felt as though I were walking right alongside Tom, or casting my line just up the river from him, or star-gazing with him in his yard.
In a wonderful example of Tom’s ability to connect to readers of all walks, to bring the secular and sacred together, he quotes Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics from the song “Nebraska” and in the next sentence links those to the Nicene Creed. Tom’s skill, his art, is his effortless presentation of our world and its needs (and ours) even as the reader understands the effort it takes to recognize the miracles in the ordinary and to appreciate the star, the sycamore, and our souls as connections across the universe.
Tom Springer has done it again with his latest book, The Star in the Sycamore. In his accessible yet brilliant manner, Tom presents the reader with the fascinating in the mundane, the wildness in the civilized, the lesson within the anecdote, and the common sense in a world of extremes. This series of essays covers the lives and environs of his Midwestern roots and home. He writes with simple grace and with a thirst for knowledge through observation and education that connects with the reader effortlessly. While reading this book, I pondered, laughed, wondered, and learned. At times, I felt as though I were walking right alongside Tom, or casting my line just up the river from him, or star-gazing with him in his yard.
In a wonderful example of Tom’s ability to connect to readers of all walks, to bring the secular and sacred together, he quotes Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics from the song “Nebraska” and in the next sentence links those to the Nicene Creed. Tom’s skill, his art, is his effortless presentation of our world and its needs (and ours) even as the reader understands the effort it takes to recognize the miracles in the ordinary and to appreciate the star, the sycamore, and our souls as connections across the universe.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews