Bristlecone: The Secret Life of the World's Oldest Tree

by Alexandra Siy, Marlo Garnsworthy (Illustrator)

Interweaving lovely, meticulously drawn pictures with a story line that spans 5,000 years, Alexandra Siy invites young naturalists to explore the secrets of the world’s oldest trees—secrets of the earth’s climate, recorded in their tree rings. A volcano erupts in 2036 BC. In 775, a storm explodes on the sun. Lightning strikes in 1122. And during the 20th century, the temperature increases dramatically.

Alexandra Siy’s lyrical text, paired with Marlo Garnsworthy’s meticulously researched mixed media paintings, reveals the life cycle of the mysterious ancient bristlecone pine.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published June 19, 2022

About the author

Alexandra Siy is a science writer for kids, merging STEM and art to make STEAM! Many of her titles use primary source scientific imagery to reveal both outer space and the microscopic, inviting young readers to enter worlds that can only be visited using science and technology. Worlds where spiders are superheroes, insects are much more than bugly, a simple sneeze is a micro-second adventure through the body, and the interstellar age is now. Alexandra is also a photographer and the creator of instastem.com, a STEM inspired photography workshop that gets kids reading writing, and creating their own science-as-art photographs. As a visiting author, she travels to schools and libraries nationwide, sharing her passion for science, books, and photography. She's also worked as a teacher in diverse communities, including Alaska and Colorado. Alexandra lives in New York State on her 73-acre sustainable family forest with her teenage son and their cat.

Reviews

[Karin Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite children’s nonfiction book of the past 2 years. As an elementary school teacher who is passionate about teaching science, I was captivated by the graphics, the storyline, and the factual content. The graphics are gorgeous, and surprisingly versatile in their accessibility - readers of all ages are able to gather information from them. The storyline, based on the secrets held by the ancient bristlecone, creates a mystery right from the first page and keeps you reading like a detective until the end; this is a unique form of narrating that is sadly lacking from many nonfiction books for children. Fascinating facts about the bristlecone are embedded throughout the story, beautifully blended and integrated in a way that does not generate fact overload. The book is recommended for ages 5-9 but as an adult I was intrigued from beginning to end, and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the natural world and the astounding ways it manifests itself on our planet.

[Kimberly Sabatini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to share this #poppinspicks — a fabulous non-fiction picture book.

BRISTLECONE: The Secret Life of the World’s Oldest Tree by Alexandra Siy is a perfectly packaged, bite-sized master class about ancient Bristlecone pine trees which is accompanied by stunning illustrations from Marlo Garnsworthy. You know I love my Red-tailed hawks, giving me an illustration bonus 🪶

I know I’m a day late, but this book is #earthday 🌎 perfection. I learned so much and feel ever-growing pride in the talent of local authors and illustrators. Teachers and parents, you should be checking this one out. I LOVED it! ❤️

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 50-year old bristlecone pine tree has 50 rings and is only 6 inches tall! A 300-year old bristlecone tree is only 3 feet tall. And the oldest bristlecone tree is probably about 5,000 years old. All amazing facts i didn't know til i read this information-filled and beautifully illustrated book. I come away with a deeper appreciation for how good our earth, and its bristlecone trees, have been at adapting to what comes their way: volcanoes and lightening, insect attacks and heatwaves. Leaves me with some hope for our planet, even in the face of dreadful man-made climate change.

[Chris Geiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful to look at, well researched, timely - well done! This would be an excellent addition to kids' curricula on climate change, ecology, or botany, and there are some interesting stories here I'd never heard before. For example, who knew that the oldest trees are the ones growing in the harshest conditions? And despite the gloom of climate change, the bristlecone story is one of wonder. That's a nice change.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cool way to look at not only these nifty trees, but also to understand the ecologic niche they inhabit, and how that has changed over time. The beginning was a great draw in (the "that's not the secret" stuff) but then I was also impressed at the clear texts about the slow growth, the nearby animals, the way to track growth. Does a lot for its size.

[Brooke - TheBrookeList · Rating 3 out of 5]

We live in a state where bristlecone abound, and I've spent a great deal of time on my childhood camping trips playing in their shade or hiking among them. I knew they were special in some ways, but this book was incredibly eye-opening as to their true wonderous nature! This dinosaur of a tree seems to thrive in the most barren of places, and my elementary-age children loved the whole book. They enjoyed the way the story was written (which did not lose their interest or bore them in non-fiction depth). They loved the tree rings and depictions of why they might change or how a tree might be cored to study those rings. They wondered how the coring doesn't hurt or threaten the trees and asked questions. I have looked on these gnarled old trees for years, but never stopped to think about what their long history might tell us of our ever-changing world. Certainly the definition of resilience. I can't wait to take it along next time we encounter a bristlecone!

The print quality and feel of the book is quite good, complete even with beautiful diagrams on the endpapers, rich illustrations throughout, and a view of the surrounding habitat and animals of the area as well. Among our favorite are diagrams that show how slowly the bristlecone grow in comparison to the size of animals native to the bristlecone habitat.

[Patricia Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written with lovely illustrations, this is a fascinating non fiction picture book about some of the oldest trees in the world. We all learned so much!

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book written for children. It discusses the life of bristlecone pines which are a species that lives for thousands of years.

[Will Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute, informative and brilliant! I discovered this book from the Children’s Book Council librarians favorites. I got this book for my best friends kids, it will be a favorite for many years to come.