Tattybogle Tree

by Sandra Ann Horn

Tattybogle, the scarecrow, has a head full of straw and cheerful thoughts. The rain is Tattybogle's music, the wind is his dancing partner. Then one day the playful wind blows too hard, and all that is left of Tattybogle is an old stick. But that is only the start of a glorious new life, because the stick starts to take root in the earth, and becomes a tree . . .

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Sandra Ann Horn was born in 1944. She lectures at Southampton University as well as writing for children. Her first book, Tattybogle, published in paperback in September 1996, was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize and the Kurt Maschler Award.

Reviews

[Sophie Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, heartwarming story. The illustrations are detailed, engaging and support the text. The use of imagination and descriptive writing would act as a brilliant support for children developing these writing areas.

It also holds a lovely message of how good things can come from seemingly bad situations, as well as themes of moving on and change. The theme of change is also cleverly depicted by the journey through all four seasons, again acting as a support for children developing their writing skills.

[Eliza Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story about a scarecrow who turns into a tree. It is a great story for teaching children about the different seasons and has some wonderful illustrations. I used it with my Year 1 class and they absolutely loved it!

[Rebecca Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tattybogle by Sandra Horn and Ken Brown

The book tells the story of a scarecrow called Tattybogle. The book describes Tattybogle’s experience in spring, winter and autumn. However, during autumn it is so windy that Tattybogle and his clothes are blown away. The farmer finds Tattybogles coat and realises he has been blown away. All that was left of Tattybogle was the stick. Winter came back around, snow fell, the rain came, as it warmed up, Tattybogle felt a warm feeling spreading from the stick. The stick had begun to root into the ground. The stick grew into a tree, with leaves and buds. Then one sunny morning the farmer arrived where Tattybogle had turned into a tree, with a bundle of sticks, straw and warm clothes. Tattybogle watched the farmer build a new scarecrow. The new scarecrow thought the tree was beautiful.

I think the book would be good for year 2 and 3. The book is full of imaginative description and would encourage children to use interesting description to explain their writing. The book displays illustrations of all the different seasons of the year. The book also shows new begins occurring and how good things can result from bad situations.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book with my little cousin, the fantastic description and lovely illustrations complement each other well.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good natured scarecrow turns into tree and keeps his nature intact. Great illustrations.