Children's Books discussion

This month will be all about plants--any kind, anywhere; wild plants, gardening plants, or plants that we eat.

This Very Tree: A Story of 9/11, Resilience, and Regrowth by Sean Rubin
I loved this story! I had never heard of this pear tree before reading this book. What a wonderful thing the New Yorkers involved did to bring this tree back to life, so to speak. Rubin's illustrations really carry the story along, especially the several double-page spreads depicting the wreckage of the World Trade Center buildings. But there is also beauty and hope in the resurrection and re-planting of the pear tree. I do hope it gets some recognition from an award committee.

I have a lot of books on plants I have read and also lots labelled as to read. Hope that Open Library will have many of these and also more substantial plant based books for older children and teenagers.

Pretty Tricky - The Sneaky Ways Plants Survive by Etta Kaner
Somewhere between a picture book and a chapter book, it has fascinating information about plant defenses, eating habits, and reproduction. This Canadian import has outstanding illustrations by Ashley Barron, an index, a glossary, and a short bibliography.

What the World Eats by Faith D'Aluisio

This book includes plant-based food. Fascinating comparisons between different countries, families, religions on what kinds of food is eaten, available cooking and preservation equipment (or not), and differing meal and snack times. Includes lots of photos of open air markets, street foods, supermarkets, and each family with a week's worth of food spread before them.
Packed with interesting social, political, religious, and culinary information

What's Inside a Flower?: And Other Questions about Science & Nature by Rachel Ignotofsky
Excellent science book for pre-school children and early primary students. Lots of colorful, busy illustrations of different flowers; with info on the parts of a flower, pollinators and pollination, and how a flower makes seeds. Includes a bibliography.

The Very Oldest Pear Tree by Nancy I. Sanders
I very much enjoyed reading the history of this almost 400-year-old tree in Massachusetts. And I am glad to know that there are individuals and and a community that continue to care for it and protect it.

A Day with Yayah

There is indeed and certainly very much to enjoy and appreciate with regard A Day with Yayah. From Nicola I. Campbell's both engaging and descriptive narrative (which shows how Yayah, how the wise and sweetly down-to-earth grandmother teaches her children and grandchildren how to safely gather plants, mushrooms etc. for both eating and medicinal purposes, while at the same time also practicing with them their ancestral language, the critically endangered tongue of the Interior Salishan peoples of the Canadian province of British Columbia) to Julie Flett's descriptive accompanying artwork, pictures that colourfully celebrate both community and of course also the many plants and mushrooms being collected, A Day with Yayah has been both a total reading pleasure and also a wonderfully educational, enlightening, experience for me (learning from Nicola I. Campbell's Yayah, like the children featured in A Day with Yayah, like Jamesie, Nikki and Lenny, not only about how to safely and with environmental respect gather plants but also trying my hand at pronouncing and remembering the included N|e¿kepmxcin words, not always successfully, but hey, I am just a raw beginner). Four shining stars for A Day with Yayah, for a delightful and marvellous marriage of Nicola I. Campbell's text and Julie Flett's images, and the only reason why I am not considering five stars for A Day with Yayah is that I do wish the included N|e¿kepmxcin words were rendered in a solid black and not in a light blue-green font colour (as within both the text and the glossary, they at least to my ageing eyes frustratingly seem to blend in too much with the background, thus making these unknown and as such to me also rather exotic words annoyingly difficult to easily read and practice).

Plant a Pocket of Prairie by Phyllis Root
Beautiful illustrations of prairie plants, animals, and insects; with text that celebrates everything about the prairie. In the back matter is information on the importance of the prairie ecosystem, and advice on growing prairie plants in one's backyard to attract prairie animals/insects. In addition, there are short blurbs about the animals, insects and plants. The focus is on Minnesota, but, I think, informative for everyone.

The Apple Tree: A Cherokee Story

An absolute gem of a picture book (and the author is actually both a tribal librarian and great granddaughter of survivors of the horrible, tragic and infamous Cherokee Trail of Tears), Sandy Tharp-Thee's The Apple Tree: A Cherokee Story is a sweet and tender dual language English/Cherokee account of friendship, patience and encouragement, and in which, unlike in Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, it is not the apple tree that offers up its bounty, its fruit, again and again to a rather unappreciative (at least in my humble opinion) little boy, but a little Cherokee boy who not only plants an apple tree, but then offers his special tree both encouragement and actively imaginative support when said apple tree becomes impatient, discouraged and sad at how slowly it has been growing, even going so far as to suspend a red apple from the tree's branches in order to make the apple tree believe it has finally produced its first fruit (and this astute little ploy, although I guess some might consider it as not being entirely truthful, really not only does the trick so to speak, in so far as the apple tree is made happy and oh so much encouraged, it then offers the red apple to the little Cherokee lad, who even though he was the one who had of course placed the apple on the tree, gratefully and yes hungrily accepts his arborous friend's offering, a sweet and tenderly caressing two way, of reciprocal gifting). And when finally, both the apple tree and the little boy have grown big and strong, and the former is in its absolute glory, producing a myriad of pink blossoms in the springtime and abundant, sweet yellow apples come harvest, the apple tree still remembers and appreciates his first apple, the apple that "the Creator made red" (that the little boy used for a gift to the tree, a gift of love and encouragement, of tenderness). Most highly recommended, and the accompanying Cherokee text (in Cherokee syllabics) is an added bonus, especially as the author, as Sandy Tharp-Thee, also provides historical information on the Cherokee syllabary, a website link for additional information, and last but definitely not least, and for me personally, oh so much appreciated, a legend and explanation on how the Cherokee syllabary works, on how to figure out the syllabics and their specific vowel and consonant sounds. Now as to Marlena Campbell-Hodson's accompanying illustrations, they are truly as evocative and as magical as the author's sweetly loving text, presenting themselves as natural, colourful, realistically beautiful, and above all, showing the little Cherokee boy as simply a contemporary little lad wearing jeans, a t-shirt and running shoes, and not ever thankfully portraying him as donning feathers or other accoutrements to make him appear as Indian, a fact and much appreciated truth that is also echoed by the glowing and tender narrative, namely that while the unnamed little boy is Cherokee, is described as being Cherokee, he is nevertheless first and foremost, he is above all a little boy planting an apple tree, making The Apple Tree: A Cherokee Story also a perfect book and educational tool for demonstrating that Native Americans are not and should not be seen as some exotic other, but simply as people, as human beings, acting and reacting as humans do (and in this case, with the little boy using his imagination and encouragement to help the tree he has planted, providing happiness, love, support, and thinking outside the proverbial box so to speak with his red apple subterfuge).

Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them

First published in France under the title, Bizarbres mais vrais! (in 2013), for the 2016 English language edition, titled Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them (which has been translated by Yolanda Stern Broad), I do have to say that considering the "punny" title of Bernadette Pourquié's original French version, I am a trifle disappointed that the English language edition does not present itself with a similarly interesting and word-gamy, witty heading. Now the sixteen depicted so-called strange trees (from every continent except for Europe and of course Antarctica) and their individual stories are generally and for all intents and purposes both interestingly, evocatively recounted and also do much promote important messages of and for environmental conservation but without thankfully being too overt and heavy-handed with regard to this. That being said, I personally find Bernadette Pourquié's conversational, first person narrative rather annoying and even kind of presumptuous (I guess I would rather be told about the trees than to have the trees themselves narrate their own stories, but perhaps for the target audience, for the picture book crowd, a personal first person narrative might better keep children's interest and attention, especially considering the rather massive amounts of text, of information that are presented for each of the featured trees). And while the general set-up and presentation of Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them is successful and more than adequate, as someone with now less than stellar eyesight, I would definitely prefer the font size of the text, of the printed words to be a bit larger and the lettering a trifle bolder (not a huge and problematic issue by any means, but I do have to wear reading glasses for easy perusal of Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them, and if I were actually reading this book aloud to a child or a group of children, the small and in my opinion rather cramped textual display would have me worried about possibly accidentally missing or skipping important information and details). But even more of a personal and academic annoyance is that there are no supplemental scientific, biologic details included and sadly, also no bibliographies and suggestions for further reading (which would greatly augment and improve the teaching and learning potentials and value of Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them). And really, why are there NO trees from Europe included? While I realise that many European trees are pretty standard and not I guess strange or bizarre enough to be considered (at least according to the author’s philosophy), I beg to differ, as in my humble opinion, there are indeed also numerous examples of trees native to Europe that could be considered rather different and interesting, and thus worthy of inclusion (such as European Larch trees, for example, which while coniferous, in fact do actually lose their foliage in the winter similar to deciduous trees). And Cécile Gambini's accompanying full page illustrations are bright, evocative and descriptive, and while they would not generally be personal favourites by themselves (and as works of art), they work very well in conjunction with and to Bernadette's Pourquié's text (and of course by extension Yolanda Stern Broad's translation), both successfully mirroring the printed words and even at times providing appreciated additional details. However, and my general appreciation of the illustrations and how they work with, how they compliment the text quite notwithstanding, I have to personally comment that I find it somewhat insulting to French trees that Cécile Gambini seems to believe (from the information contained on the side flaps of the dust jacket) that the trees where she lives are beautiful but supposedly simply and utterly ordinary (as to and for me that gives a negative or at least can give a potentially negative attitude towards French trees as plants, as entities, as though the only worthwhile trees are the so-labelled extraordinary ones featured and found within the pages of Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them).

The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown Ups

An amazing, wonderful basic but still extensive introduction to North American trees, author/illustrator Gina Ingoglia's The Tree Book (which is also labelled as being for both kids and their grown ups) is truly a perfect marriage of informative text and meticulously rendered accompanying images. Featuring a detailed introduction to trees in general and then proceeding to specifically and in much detail describe over thirty North American trees (mostly native trees, but also some non native species now commonly found and planted in North America) the presented text shines and sparkles with just enough hard science facts and evidence to be informative and enlightening, educational, but fortunately presented in a manner that is child-friendly and thus easy to read and understand (and for me, appreciatively, the author simply presents the relevant facts and information as a given and does not attempt to "lighten" the tone by resorting to humorous asides and silliness, a trend that I have recently discovered in my perusals of science books for children, and a trend that I personally rather much despise as in my opinion, this insults or at least can insult children's intelligence and seems to suggest that children somehow need humour and silliness in order to learn and appreciate science). The full colour accompanying illustrations are marvellously, amazingly detailed, featuring not only the described, the presented individual trees in their full majesty, glory and scope, but also and always presenting specific, often minutely rendered supplemental depictions of leaves, branches, seeds, bark and the like, basically ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that might be necessary for and help with visual identification of a given tree. They are a true feast for the eyes and the specific, meticulous detail of even the tiniest leaf or seed is a perfect mirror of and compliment to the equally detailed and descriptive text, the scientific, biological narrative. Now even without the detailed and visually appealing glossary and bibliographies at the back (including a number of relevant websites), I would have absolutely loved this book, but they are indeed a very much appreciated added bonus and move The Tree Book from a great general introduction to trees to an in all ways perfect science (or rather botany) reference manual for older children (above the ages of eight or so, and highly recommended for both home schooling and in class use). And most definitely, Gina Ingoglia's The Tree Book is also and should also be considered as a wonderful and uncomplicated, easily understood and fathomed introduction to trees for EVERYONE (both young and old). Five glowing stars (and The Tree Book is actually a tome that in my opinion truly deserves more than five stars, is worth more than five stars). And oh boy, do I ever have a love/hate relationship with the new independent bookstore in my home town, as every time I go there, I manage to find so many books I would just love to have, and while I do always try to resist (for both monetary reasons and spacial reasons) often, as with this here book, I simply cannot resist the temptation.

Flowers by Gail Gibbons
This book is literally crammed with information and facts, for early and upper elementary students.

From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
This is a pretty utilitarian explanation of pumpkin growth for primary elementary grade students. The illustrations are cute and appealing, and so make the information more palatable. I liked that the author included the recipe and experiment at the end. I would have liked for her to also include some of the different varieties of pumpkins as well.

Where the Forest Meets the Sea

So yes, while I have generally rather enjoyed (and most definitely academically appreciated) Jeannie Baker’s Where the Forest Meets the Sea and have on an entirely aesthetic and visual level absolutely cherished the detailed and intricate collage like illustrations, in my opinion, Where the Forest Meets the Sea would probably if not even actually work much better as a wordless offering, namely because Baker's artwork is just so much more detailed and intricate than her rather sparse and in my opinion quite majorly unimaginative text (which I also tend to think rather does limit the pictures as a whole, since the fact remains that without the author/illustrator's limited and limiting narrative, there would in my opinion be much more scope for the imagination, for independent storytelling, as well as discussions concerning Australia's rainforests, their grandeur, but also the modern, mostly man-made threats they are currently facing and experiencing). And apropos to the illustrations of Where the Forest Meets the Sea, although yes, I really and truly have very much visually enjoyed them and their minute, exquisite detail, it also does kind of bother me more than a trifle that Jeannie Baker has supposedly made use of preserved and collected natural materials for her collages (as the author's note at the back of Where the Forest Meets the Sea does definitely seem to indicate this). Now considering that rainforests the world over are often if not generally fragile and threatened nowadays, I really do hope that NONE of the collected and preserved natural materials have come from the area (from the rainforest) being depicted and described in Where the Forest Meets the Sea (however, I do have the uncomfortable and sad sneaking suspicion that this might very well be the case, that Jeannie Baker might have, indeed, and likely willingly, knowingly used collected and preserved rainforest materials for her collages, which would be a major bone of contention and ecological no-no with and for me).

A Log's Life

Wendy Pfeffer's A Log's Life, which can basically be described as the biography of a log, is informative and engaging, with a text that, while detailed and involved, also manages to be both fascinating and compelling. Although the narrative flows well and generally reads easily, I would still and nevertheless consider A Log's Life as more suitable for older children (perhaps above the age of seven or so), primarily due to its length and the fact that some of the vocabulary used is rather advanced (a bit of a glossary or an author's note with additional ecological data and information would also have been a great added bonus and would definitely have increased the educational potential of A Log's Life). I especially love and appreciate how Pfeffer features and describes the never-ending, always repeating, constantly turning and moving circle of nature and life, how forest ecology is never stagnant. And therefore, a massive and imposing oak tree felled and destroyed by a lightning strike becomes a log on the forest floor and home/nourishment to and for many different plant and animal species. An about ten or so years later, the erstwhile rotting log has again become earth; the cycle of life begins anew, with an acorn from another oak tree falling into the humus heavy rich soil to become, to germinate into another oak tree (which might well have the same life story). The accompanying illustrations by Robin Brickman are both amazing and are actually and truly quite special. When I first perused A Log's Life, I was with a bit of personal discomfort wondering wether they were either photographs, or photographed displays of found natural objects and preserved animal and plant specimens (which would have been quite a no-no for me). However, in the note from the illustrator, Brickman states that he/she made all of the collage illustrations by cutting, painting, sculpting and gluing together pieces of watercolour paper; the illustrations thus consist only of painted paper and glue. And while, of course, paper does come from trees, I think that it was and is both environmentally and ecologically sensitive and responsible that no found objects, no preserved and/or mounted animal or plant specimens have been used in Robin Brickman's colourful and descriptive collages.

The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy

Kathryn Lasky's The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy is both informative and engaging (Dr. Lowman is inspiring, and I appreciate that when she is introducing her two sons to the rainforest canopy, she is first and foremost concerned with and for their safety and that they do not needlessly interfere with the rainforest's diverse ecosystems). For a rather dense non fiction offering on the science of rainforest canopy exploration and research, the presented narrative actually reads very much flowingly and generally keeps one's interest throughout (although I do find the sequence at the end where Dr. Lowman is reading to her sons before bedtime, while sweet and poignant, somewhat distracting and keep catching myself skimming and rushing). As to Christopher G. Knight's accompanying photographs, while I (personally) would prefer a combination of photographs and line-drawing like illustrations, they do provide a realistic mirror of and to the author's narrative, and I also have to wonder if my somewhat lacklustre reaction to them might be due to the fact that I am reading The Most Beautiful Roof in the World on my Kindle (which seems to make many of the photographs appear somewhat unclear and overly small).

Life in the Boreal Forest

While generally and for the most part Life in the Boreal Forest reads flowingly and engagingly enough (Brenda Z. Guiberson's narrative is detailed and informative, while Gennady Sirrin's accompanying illustrations are simply visually glorious, both mirroring and at times even rather expanding on Guiberson’s presented text), I do kind of feel that there is a bit of a frustrating sense of disconnect between parts of the written words and the desired, the intended audience. For in my opinion, the amount of narrative, and the often involved and intricate detail of Life in the Boreal Forest are clearly meant for older children (above the age of seven or so) while the animal sounds depicted actually tend to feel more appropriate for much younger children (and personally, I do find them rather frustrating and distracting, even mildly annoying, and wonder whether older children might not even consider them a bit childish, especially considering that the rest of the featured narrative is dense, descriptive and even a bit challenging with regard to vocabulary at times). Still, Life in the Boreal Forest is to be highly recommended (and not just for the information presented, but also for Brenda Z. Guiberson’s detailed author's note at the back, and the long list of websites at the front, although I do not really understand why these could not have been placed in one area of the book, as separating them out like this does not really seem to make all that much common sense).

Walking with Aalasi: An Introduction to Edible and Medicinal Arctic Plants

This absolutely spectacular dual language (in English and Inuktitut) introduction to edible and medicinal Arctic plants is a true and much enlightening both reading and also research treasure. Not only describing in meticulous and appreciated both cultural and botanical detail the many uses of these plants (from medicine and food sources, to plants that the Inuit have traditionally utilised for fuel, diapers and even insulation) the accompanying photographs of Aalasi Joamie's Walking with Aalasi: An Introduction to Edible and Medicinal Arctic Platns also clearly present and show that the Arctic, the Canadian Tundra, is actually and in reality anything but barren and devoid of life and vegetation. The featured written text of Walking with Aalasi: An Introduction to Edible and Medicinal Arctic Platns is descriptive and even though very much factual, it also never does once read tediously or monotonously (and actually makes me really want to travel to the Arctic, to look at, to perhaps even forage for these plants and to perchance even sample some of the berries and teas so lovingly and informatively described). However, while the main narrative section of Walking with Aalasi: An Introduction to Edible and Medicinal Arctic Platns about the specific featured, presented plants and their myriad of uses by the Inuit has been penned by Anna Ziegler and Rebecca Hainu (who provides the Inuktitut translations, which appear as they should, in syllabics), the introduction itself is by Aalasi Joamie herself (an Inuit Elder who has provided ALL of the information on the presented plants, their uses and the like). And reading said introduction might indeed at first feel a bit choppy, as the text does seem to meander, to move back and forth from factual discussion to nostalgia. But indeed, the introduction has actually and in fact not really been "written" by Aalasie Joamie, but instead is based on oral interviews, on oral recordings (in Inuktitut) which have then been transcribed without adaptation and changes into English (into the introduction of Walking with Aalasi: An Introduction to Edible and Medicinal Arctic Platns). And personally, I am in fact and actually very much appreciative of the fact that the English transcriptions have not been altered and made to appear more "literary" as that would both diminish the palpable and lovely sense of immediacy and also basically change Aalasie Joamie's words into something they are not (which would be or at least could be, rather insulting and denigrating, in my opinion, and dimmish the impact of the introduction, of Aalsie Joamie's words and the nostalgic remembrances of her childhood and adulthood). Highly recommended (but just like the authors have stated, many of the plants featured and described in Walking with Aalasi: An Introduction to Edible and Medicinal Arctic Platns have or at least can have strong medicinal properties and they should, nay they must, therefore be used with prudence and care).

The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth

Although much of the information textually presented by Anita Silvey in her Middle Grade The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth certainly is interesting enough and yes, quite exotically adventuresome in and of itself, both personally and intellectually, I have found The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth rather woefully one-sided at best and as such for the most part also rather totally and absolutely ignoring the (in my opinion omni-present and necessary to consider) negative undercurrents of especially much of the 19th century explorations of South America, Africa etc. and the harvesting of novel, newly discovered plant species. For while I might have indeed found reading about Alexander von Humboldt and other 19th century plant explorers informative to a certain extent (and also kind of grudgingly am somewhat in awe that they would risk so much, including their health and often their very lives in order to not only find but also collect and bring back home with them exotic plant species), frankly, I do have to consider Anita Silvey's attitude that these plant collectors always should somehow to be seen as heroic and positive, as dashing adventurers more than a bit blinkered and naive. For one, and I do believe that this point should at least have been approached somewhat critically by the author in The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth, in my opinion, many of these early explorers certainly did seem to have a very sadly and truly horribly lackadaisical approach and attitude towards the many dangers they were or would likely be facing on their voyages of discovery. And furthermore, their lack of foresight and their cavalier approach to possible threats and horrors during their plant foraging and exploration expeditions would also of course have caused the same threats of illness and danger to and for their shipmates, to and for those hired or shanghaied (forced) to help the plant hunters on their explorations (and no, I do not consider this all that heroic, for it is one thing to put only yourself in danger, but it is quite another thing to involve others and especially those who have no or at least not much choice in the matter). And for two, I am indeed rather massively furious that Anjta Silvey in The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth does not ever really consider the many real and potential environmental problems and issues that have been and can be caused by non native plants, that she never mentions the threats and dangers posed by so-called invasive species. For while many of the discovered (harvested, collected) plant species were indeed being used both horticulturally and commercially, there have also and from day one so to speak been problematic instances of non native, exotic plants invading and threatening native species, and that with 19th century plant enthusiasts discovering exotic flowers, trees, grasses etc. and taking them back home to often Europe, indeed, this did not always have positive and non problematic consequences for native European ecosystems, and of course the same holds true for other countries and vice versa (not to mention that Anita Silvey equally has very conveniently decided to simply ignore questions of 19th century imperialism and colonialism in The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth and actually even dares to offhandedly refer to Native Americans in a manner that makes them in my opinion appear quite as "uncivilized savages"). And therefore, from both a reading pleasure and an intellectual, academic point of departure, I have not really all that much either enjoyed or even been able to very much appreciate The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth as a work of factually sound non fiction (as indeed, I do find author Anita Silvey's presented and featured text pretty much lacking with regard to some rather important questions and considerations that I for one do feel need to definitely be raised and discussed in The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth and yes, I can really only and without reservations recommend The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth for its accompanying visuals and the extensive bibliography at the back of the book).

Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas by Molly Bang
Interesting facts and info; with very nice illustrations. However, if the sun were as close to the earth as suggested in a couple of the illustrations, we would all be crispy critters.

The Tree That Would Not Die by Ellen Levine
Fascinating story, beautiful illustrations about the attempted "murder" of a famous Texas oak tree--the Treaty Oak in Austin, Texas.

Plants Feed Me by Lizzy Rockwell
This simple, basic book is perfect to share with toddlers and preschool children. The text is very straightforward (noun/verb/object); perhaps not inspired, but very informative for quite small children. She briefly notes how plants grow and differentiates between vegetables, fruits, and seeds, using only a few examples. Illustrations are simple and clear, making it easy for a parent or teacher to point out the different plants and plant parts to children.

Let's Go Nuts!: Seeds We Eat by April Pulley Sayre
The text is a rhyming chant celebrating all different kinds of seeds: nuts, grains, and legumes. Large, clear, colorful photographs grace each page, with the few chant words above or below the photo. This part of the book would be good to share with toddlers and preschool children, showing them the different seed types. The back matter contains the information about the various seed types, and is informative for elementary age children. There is no bibliography in the book, but readers are referred to her website for the bibliography and seed identification. I checked, and sure enough, there was a bibliography of books for children and reference books for adults. There is also a group of photos of seeds in alphabetical order (familiar and not so familiar).

Bloom Boom! by April Pulley Sayre
This gorgeous book has a very simple text and glorious, full-page photographs of various flowering plants. Back matter has more information about flowering plants, and thumbnails of the book's photos, identifying the plants therein. The author also includes 4 websites to visit.

Tall Tall Tree by Anthony D. Fredericks
With rhyming text, this book counts creatures from 1 - 10 that live in or on a redwood tree. On the last page of the story, the reader turns the book sideways for a double-spread illustration of a redwood tree with teeny tiny humans at its base. The back matter includes more information about redwood trees, thumbnail illustrations of 10 hidden creature to search for in the book, an actual-sized illustration of a redwood seed--the size of a tomato seed, and STEM activities for parents or teachers to do with students. An excellent resource for preschool children and elementary school students.

Plants Can't Sit Still by Rebecca E. Hirsch
This book's information is geared to preschool children. The simple text describes the many ways that plants can move, accompanied by lovely cut paper collage and watercolor illustrations. The back matter contains more information about plants in general, and additional information about the plants featured in the book. The book concludes with a glossary, bibliography, and list of websites.

Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them by Bernadette Pourquié
16 trees with some kind of unusual attribute are described, accompanied by beautiful mixed media paintings. Each spread features a description of the tree on the left side, told by the tree itself, and on the right side is a painting of the tree. This interesting and informative book will be welcomed by elementary students who love the unique and unusual.

Great topic, though not sure I will have time to chime in this month, but we did a Gardening theme in the Picture Book Club back in 2014 and some of those titles may appeal to those searching this thread:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Kathryn wrote: "Great topic, though not sure I will have time to chime in this month, but we did a Gardening theme in the Picture Book Club back in 2014 and some of those titles may appeal to those searching this ..."

Thanks, Kathryn!

Redwoods by Jason Chin
This is a great companion book to Tall Tall Tree in post #25 above. Although the book follows a young boy who enters the redwood forest through a magical subway exit, in fact, the boy is never mentioned in the text, nor is the flying squirrel that accompanies him in his walk through the trees. The text is facts about the trees, some of which is also covered in the other book. Jason Chin's wonderful paintings show the youngster walking in the forest and climbing the trees to examine the canopy. The back matter includes information on the shrinking redwood forests; and depicts a 330 foot tall tree with a teeny tiny adult standing next to it. A good introduction for the primary grades.

The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families by Susan L. Roth
This interesting book describes how Dr. Sato, a cell biologist and survivor of the Manzanar War Relocation Center, helped the villagers in Hargigo, Eritrea (Africa) plant mangrove trees near the Red Sea, to provide food for their flocks of sheep and goats. The mangrove trees significantly improved the environment of the area and the prosperity of the villagers. The author wrote a cumulative rhyme about the trees (a couple of lines added at a time), which appears on subsequent pages, superimposed on her collage illustrations. To the side of the illustrations is more detailed text. The back matter includes photos of the mangrove project, including photos of Dr. Sato, who has been awarded many times for his efforts; a glossary, list of websites, and a list of the author's sources.

The Fruits We Eat by Gail Gibbons
This is a good introduction to familiar fruits, geared toward primary students. The information is basic and the illustrations are quite busy; mostly in panels--4 to a page or 2 to a page. The main part of the book discusses the different ways fruits grow and are harvested, focusing on more familiar fruits such as berries, apples, peaches, bananas, melons, grapes, and citrus fruits. The penultimate page shows some other fruits including avocado, plums, kiwis, apricots, figs, etc. A couple of websites are listed on the final page.

A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston
This book is a lovely companion to Let's Go Nuts in post #23 above, geared to pre-school children and primary grade students. However, the seeds in this book are not necessarily edible for humans. One of the fun features of the book are the illustrations of 38 seeds on the front endpapers, to be matched with the 38 plants on the back endpapers--it's a bit of a challenge, because they are not laid out in the same order. All of the seeds/plants in the body of the book are the ones on the endpapers. The author explains how seeds grow and the different ways they can be dispersed. The beautiful illustrations are very large, making the information easy to understand. Although there is no bibliography, there is a list of people consulted in the acknowledgements.

Beverly wrote: "The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families by Susan L. Roth
This interesting book describes how Dr. Sato, a cell biologist and survivor of the Manzanar War R..."

This sounds fascinating!

Thanks for all the great reviews, I found some new-to-me books that I look forward to sharing with my children.

Survivor Tree by Marcie Colleen

This is a beautiful, lyrical story of the pear tree that was buried at Ground Zero, found, nurtured back to life, and replanted at the 9/11 memorial area. Aaron Becker's paintings are gorgeous, and I love how he included ghost images of the World Trade Center buildings in some of the paintings. There is additional information about the tree in the back matter. A good companion to This Very Tree (post 2 above).

This is not a book particularly geared towards children, but it is in my opinion suitable for readers over the age of twelve or so.

The Tree Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Trees

DK's The Tree Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Trees is with regard to what is textually being presented pretty darn perfect as a general but still sufficiently extensive introduction, covering not only the the specific scientific facts regarding trees (from the evolution of trees to how trees work, as well as providing the relevant details on a large number of both non flowering and flowering trees, seperated respectively).

But alongside of the textual presentation of trees from a botantical perspective, The Tree Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Trees also demonstrates how we humans have made and continue to make use of trees (of wood), that clearcutting and indiscriminate logging is threatening many trees and many ecosystems and and that global warming is having a very negative effect on in particular the northern, the boreal forests of the world.

Combined with wonderful accompanying illustrations and often really beautiful, spectacular photographs, if I were to only consider what the contributors to The Tree Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Trees have written content and thematics wise, yes indeed, my rating would be solidly five stars (and especially so since there is also neither textual awkwardness nor botany based scientific jargon to be found The Tree Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Trees, just a solidly informative but still sufficiently simple account of what trees are and what they signify).

But well, for me to actually consider a five star rating for a one hundred percent non fiction tome on trees (actually, on basically anything), there absolutely would need to be an included bibliography, there would have to be an acknowledgment of utilised sources. And since that is not the case with The Tree Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Trees, I am only able to grant a four star rating for The Tree Book: The Stories, Science, and History of Trees and to point out that the lack of biographical information does defintely lower the educational value of this book a trifle.

Ten Thousand Poisonous Plants in the World

Maybe I should not be starting my review of Paul Rockett's 2015 Ten Thousand Poisonous Plants in the World with somewhat of an annoyed and frustrated rant. But yes, I am honestly more than a trifle ticked off at how a textually wonderful and enlightening infographics themed picture book on plants in general (and yes, even if I aesthetically do not happen to find Mark Ruffle'f accompanying artwork all that visually appealing for my eyes) would have a book title insinuating that Rockett's presented text is going to be all or at least mostly about poisonous plants (when in fact, Ten Thousand Poisonous Plants in the World only has about two pages maximum on plants that are toxic and that the rest of Ten Thousand Poisonous Plants in the World is basically about plants and botany in general).

For I honestly do NOT AT ALL understand why Paul Rockett has chosen Ten Thousand Poisonous Plants in the World as his book title, when he actually only features a pretty limited amount of actual information on and regarding plant toxicity. And I can only speculate that perhaps this has been done on purpose by Rockett to quasi reign in potential readers with a somewhat outrageous sounding title, but that for me personally (and both for my adult self and even more so for my inner child), to say that this has really has majorly backfired is not only the ruth but also quite the understatement. Because to tell the truth, when I realised that Ten Thousand Poisonous Plants in the World is basically about ALL plants, about plants in general, and NOT only on poisonous plants, while the presented details definitely have been interesting and enlightening and that I also and surprisingly for me have not even been minding the focus on numbers and infographics, the misleading book heading has indeed made me feel pretty hugely cheated and so much so that I actually came very close to not even bothering to continue with Ten Thousand Poisonous Plants in the World.

And therefore, for me personally, while what Paul Rocket is featuring about plants in Ten Thousand Poisonous Plants in the World (about plant biology, their evolution, how plants are used, what environmental threats they face and that yes some plants are indeed toxic) is well researched and engagingly penned, my issues with the above mentioned misleading book title and that I also do find Mark Ruffle's artwork not really to my visual tastes, well, for me, Ten Thousand Poisonous Plants in the World can only be a three star rating (and that I do kind of hope that Paul Rockett would consider rereleasing Ten Thousand Poisonous Plants in the World with a less misleading book title).

The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil From the Age of the Dinosaurs

Well, regarding James Woodford's 2002 The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil From the Age of the Dinosaurs, there is certainly much contained within this book's pages that is textually both delightfully interesting and also majorly and intensely educational (and yes, when I started reading The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil From the Age of the Dinosaurs on Open Library, I also immediately checked if Woodford has included a bibliography, and he has indeed done so, and it is both detailed and research friendly).

And with regard to what James Woodford has presented, we as readers of The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil From the Age of the Dinosaurs receive from his pen not only a meticulously detailed account of the September 10th, 1994 discovery of the Wollemi Pine by David Noble, Michael Casteleyn and Tony Zimmerman in a remote and quite inaccessible Australian forest area abutting on the capital city of Sydney, no, we also find much information about living fossils in general, how Wollemi Pines might have survived unchanged for millions of years, as well as how Antartica moving to the polar regions of the Southern Hemisphere when Gondwanaland broke up doomed this landmass to being henceforth covered with huge masses of ice, and that the recent northern ice ages have left areas like Northern Canada, Scandinavia etc. with a paucity of deciduous trees.

But even more essential, and even more special (at least for me) is that in The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil From the Age of the Dinosaurs James Woodford enlightens us regarding the Wollemi Pine living fossil without EVER making use of annoying and frustrating scientific jargon, and that I most certainly and massively do appreciate being able to not only read but also completely understand every single part of James Woodford's presented text of The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil From the Age of the Dinosaurs without needing, without requiring a college/university or even a senior high school level knowledge of and education in biology, palaeontology, botanical, living fossils and the like, that basically EVERYTHING biological, that everything scientific is explained simply, concisely and in a manner that makes The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil From the Age of the Dinosaurs suitable for ANY interested reader from about the age of thirteen or so onwards (and that high school biology teachers should in my opinion seriously consider using The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil From the Age of the Dinosaurs in the classroom, but to also take into consideration that since The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil From the Age of the Dinosaurs was published in 2002, that more recent details about Wollemi Pines such as the fact that Wollemi Pines do rather well as cultivars and that the area where the Wollemi Pines were found was endangered by fire during the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season but that the pines happily were saved by specialist firefighters dropping flame retardants on the grove, this all will of course and naturally not be part of James Woodford's featured text).

Highly and warmly recommended is The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil From the Age of the Dinosaurs, and with the only reason for my rating being four and not five stars being that I do personally think that James Woodford sometimes spends just a bit too much time on the human discoverers of both the Wollemi Pines and other examples of living fossils (and that this does in my opinion take some textual space away from science).

I'm sorry I missed this thread when it was current, but I am definitely adding some of these titles to my lists!

Also, offhand, I can recommend The Reason for a Flower and Plants That Never Ever Bloom by Ruth Heller.

Ok, I've ordered a bunch. :)

Encyclopedia of Plants, Fungi, and Lichens for Young Readers

A very nice (but with no bibliography) picture book introduction to plants, fungi and lichens, which my inner child totally loves (and as such solidly four stars). If you want more information, the link to my review appears below:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And there are also picture books by the same publisher about birds and animals which I have not yet read (kind of weird though that birds get their own book as they are of course also animals, and I sure hope that in the bird book, birds are described as being animals)

Encyclopedia of Birds for Young Readers
Encyclopedia of Animals for Young Readers

Not specifically written with a young reader audience in mind, but in particular the conservation and ecological botanical information contained in Lorraine Johnson and Sheila Colla's 2023 A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators: Ontario and Great Lakes Edition would in my opinion work very well with and for readers from about the age of twelve onwards (and in particular they live in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the USA). But I do wish the Johnson and Colla would be more actively critical of pesticide use and bylaws mandating manicured lawns and tidy gardens and would also list those Ontario cities that are the most anally retentive regarding enforcing those silly bylaws.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Âmî Osâwâpikones / Dear Dandelion

Highly recommended, a 2023 debut picture book by a Cree (or rather a nêhiyaw) author/illustrator (from Alberta, but I will not call S.J. Okemow Canadian because I think she does not really feel Canadian but nêhiyaw), a lovely both lyrical and aesthetic celebration of dandelions and of life in general, Own Voices, but with the text and the images being delightfully and sweetly for everyone, both young and old.

(view spoiler)[Although in the USA and in Canada, dandelions are not only often considered to be a weed but are also at least technically speaking an invasive species (and were likely first brought to North America on board of the Mayflower for medicinal purposes), I happen to adore dandelions, do not really at all consider them as being problematic and also thus very strongly agree with nêhiyaw (with Cree) author S.J. Okemow, who in her spectacular and also intensely personal author's note for her 2023 debut picture book Âmî Osâwâpikones / Dear Dandelion basically states that for her (and like is totally the case for me), dandelions have been established long enough in North America to be mostly considered as endemic now (and in particular since there are in fact many native North American plants which hail from the same family as dandelions and thus attract similar insects and provide many benefits to and for Canadian and American ecosystems), that dandelions thus are not something to get rid of, but a lovely, resilient, useful and versatile flower to cherish, a bloom that provides nectar, nourishment and is basically absolutely and utterly not a weed, not noxious, but a plant to celebrate and to almost worship for its beauty and for oh so much more.

Poetic, free form verses (and with a number of y dialect Plains Cree words and expressions inserted) make Âmî Osâwâpikones / Dear Dandelion a lovely, a totally wonderful lyrical and Own Voices celebration of dandelions, with Okemow describing dandelion flowers as aesthetically gorgeously beautiful, as a colourful and enchanting gift to and for both man and wildlife, both for pleasure and also for food, shelter and equally signifying courage, bravery, strength, whilst Âmî Osâwâpikones / Dear Dandelion also sweetly and delightfully demonstrates how the dandelion's constant and lasting resilience mirrors human emotions and brings the eternal promise spring and seasonal rebirth. And yes indeed, the artwork for Âmî Osâwâpikones / Dear Dandelion (which is also by S.J. Okemow, as she is both author and illustrator), the featured pictures not only colourfully and brilliantly visually mirror and compliment the sweetly poetic text, but also visually show that First Nations individuals are not exotic, are not "the other" but simply individuals living their lives and enjoying nature (including of course the dandelions of the book title), but that yes, I do appreciate that in one of the illustrative spreads for Âmî Osâwâpikones / Dear Dandelion S.J. Okemow has drawn a young First Nations girl clad in what looks like a traditional dance costume. Highly recommended, solidly five stars and with my only very minor frustration with regard to Âmî Osâwâpikones / Dear Dandelion being that I kind of wish the English language translations and pronunciation guide for the Cree words could be located not only at the back of Âmî Osâwâpikones / Dear Dandelion (where it is located) but within the text proper as well, as I do find it kind of annoying and distracting having to flip back and forth. (hide spoiler)]

So mushrooms are technically speaking not plants (and are in their own kingdom separate from both plants and animals). However, many books on plants still do seem to include mushrooms, so I am going to be adding my mushroom books here, with the first addition being a wonderful 1974 picture book that has been adapted from a Russian tale (and is rather similar in set-up to the Ukrainian folktale "The Mitten"). Found on Open Library, and a really nice combination of a fun text and expressive artwork, and with a tiny bit of mushroom trivia at the end of the story (namely that in the rain, mushrooms grow).

Mushroom in the Rain: Adapted from the Russian of V. Suteyev

(view spoiler)[I am glad that in the 1974 picture book Mushroom in the Rain it is pointed out (on the publication information page) that Mirra Ginsburg's presented text is an adaptation of Russian children's author and mycologist (mushroom expert) Vladimir Suteyev's Prod Gibrom (which means Under the Mushroom in English and might be под грибомin in Russian script, although I am by no means sure of that). But yeah, considering how much textual similarities there are in Mushroom in the Rain and also thus likely in Prod Gibrom to the Ukrainian folktale The Mitten (Рукавичка), I do kind of wish that Ginsburg would also be featuring a bit of an author's note regarding all of this. And while the latter is definitely and of course not really necessary and required for Mushroom in the Rain to be enjoyed (and in particular so by the intended audience, by young children from about the age three or four onwards), I am most definitely rather missing supplemental information regarding Vladimir Suteyev, on how and why Mirra Ginsburg has adapted Prod Gibrom and on any folkloric parallels of the latter to The Mitten (and that yes, I am of course especially curious whether The Mitten is strictly part of Ukrainian folklore or is in fact pan Slavic).

And in Mushroom in the Rain Mirra Ginsburg shows (and indeed very much like The Mitten in its general set-up) how during a relentless rainstorm a parade of increasingly larger animals take shelter under a tiny mushroom just emerging from the soil, an ant, a butterfly, a mouse, a sparrow, a rabbit and finally a fox (but with the fox actually not needing to take shelter anymore as the rain suddenly ceases and the sun comes out), likely in the spring, since José Aruega and Ariane Dewey's accompanying artwork totally visually says this to and for my eyes with its lush greenery and many flowers (a bit cartoon like for my aesthetics perhaps, but brightly colourful and majorly visually expressive), and with the animals emerging from underneath the mushroom being shown by Ginsburg as both surprised and also finally realising that the erstwhile oh so tiny mushroom is now quite large, is in fact now big enough circumference wise to no longer be cramped quarters for them (and the reason for this being, and yes, this is a bit of factual mushroom related trivia being shown in Under the Mushroom, that mushrooms grow and get larger when it rains or after it has rained).

A simple but fun little story is Under the Mushroom, and with Aruega and Dewey's pictures not only delightfully and realistically mirroring Mirra Ginsburg's words but also visually expending on them, with engagingly funny depictions of the animals trying to each fit under the mushroom and at the end of Under the Mushroom there being a visual abundance of large and very colourful mushrooms, definitely and wonderfully solidly four stars, highly recommended (but that I do, and as already mentioned above, miss an author's note and hence not yet a five star rating for Under the Mushroom). (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[In Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants Through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children (which was published in 1994), each of the featured traditional tales (lyrically, beautifully retold as well as gorgeously, expressively illustrated by Abenaki children's author Joseph Bruchac) and then followed by detailed discussion prompts as well as Michael J. Caputo's botanical information and a plethora of possible earth and plant based activities (for children, for students) acknowledges the Native North American cultures (the tribal affiliations) in which the respective stories originated and with accompanying maps helping readers (or listeners) to locate, to visually situate where the different cultural groups (tribes) traditionally resided (and often of course still reside) in North America. And yes, considering that every tale featured (encountered) in Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants Through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children is about one to three pages in length, this in my humble opinion also makes them ideal for reading aloud and therefore not only making use of oral tradition but also celebrating the latter and pointing out with Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants Through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children that first and foremost, that traditionally, Native American stories, culture and education were and still are based on oral transmission, on the elders teaching, education via word-of-mouth.

And once a tale has been shared, and students have reflected on the story via the discussion prompts, Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants Through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children then (as already pointed out) offers Michael J. Caputo's many suggestions for ecological activities to solidify and expand the learning of the story, field trips, demonstrations, experiments, puppet shows, the list is wonderfully expansive, comprehensively thorough, although sometimes perhaps also just a wee bit overly enthusiastic, as I for one certainly have felt at times somewhat inundated and textually overwhelmed. But yes, I do very much appreciate, value and cherish the activity suggestions, the tales themselves, the information presented and shared by Joseph Bruchac and Michael J. Caputo and definitely do consider Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants Through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children a wonderful teaching resource for both in class and at home use (geared mostly towards grades three to grade eight, but that of course the activities can also be modified for younger and also for older ages).
     
Finally (last but definitely not least), the glossary and pronunciation key at the back of Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants Through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children and that there are source notes at the end of each story/activities section, this is for and to me an added bonus, very much both enjoyed and also warmly appreciated, as is Joseph Bruchac's section titled Other Versions of Native American Stories, where Bruchac discusses his story selection process and his interest in respecting the traditional oral culture of Native American stories, and with me certainly and definitely considering Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants Through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children as an excellent and useable teaching resource (and my only annoyance and potential caveat being that the font size of the text for the non story parts of Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children is rather minuscule and thus also rather hard to read and painful for ageing eyes). (hide spoiler)]

Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children

Plant a Little Seed

(view spoiler)[What a little gem Plant a Little Seed is! With a deceptively simple, poetic text and gorgeous, evocative illustrations, author/illustrator Bonnie Christensen delightfully and realistically shows the joys, the pleasures of gardening (planting seeds, waiting for the seeds to sprout, and finally, harvesting and enjoying nature's bounty). While the poetic narrative is uncomplicated enough to be enjoyed by toddlers, I believe that slightly older children (especially children interested in gardens and gardening) would also find much potential pleasure reading Plant a Little Seed (or having it read to them). And the detailed supplemental information is an added and much appreciated bonus (I particularly like the fact that Bonnie Christensen mentions the importance of insects for pollination, that for example worms keep the soil soft and aerated, that many insects are beneficial and actually eat common garden pests).

The accompanying illustrations have an almost jewel or stained glass like quality to them, and not only do they wonderfully and expressively compliment and mirror the text, they also provide information not found within the narrative proper (that the two friends planting seeds and gardening are a girl and a boy, and that they are depicted as being ethnically diverse). And that these two factoids, that these two truths are only demonstrated by and through the illustrations (that the text itself makes no mention of either the gender or the ethnicity of the two friends, that it is simply a story of two friends planting seeds, two friends tending their garden) is both lovely and sweetly, wonderfully encouraging; it shows ethnic diversity as something as natural, as beautiful as plants, as gardens, as sunshine and rain, as nature itself. Five in all ways glowing stars! (hide spoiler)]

Are Trees Alive?

(view spoiler)[So yes, many of us adults would more than likely consider the question of whether trees are alive as a bit silly in and of itself and end up with the rather predictable and obvious answer that of course they are. But well and in my humble opinion, if we are indeed going to be totally honest here, the actual question of whether trees are alive is more than likely a query which many of us probably asked or at least had wanted to ask as children and that our rather assured answer nowadays that trees are living entities is also probably something we just consider as a matter of fact, but that in reality we simply seem to just accept that trees are forms of life but that we also do not really for the most part consider and understand the specific, the precise reasons as to why trees are alive (and how they for example compare to us, compare to human beings).

And with her 2003 non fiction picture book Are Trees Alive? author Debbie S. Miller not only shows that trees are indeed (and like all plants) alive, but Miller then ingeniously and delightfully textually uses the many similarities that can be found between trees and us, between trees and human beings to clearly demonstrate this both verbally and also with Stacy Schuett's accompanying illustrations (which are bright, cheery and do a wonderful job mirroring and sometimes also expanding on Debbie S. Miller's printed words for Are Trees Alive?, clearly showing and demonstrating that trees and humans are like all living beings totally linked and that they have very many rather obvious similarities worthy of consideration (that the roots of trees act like our human feet do, that the trunks of trees are very much like human legs, that tree bark is akin to our skin and tree sap to human blood).

Highly recommended is Are Trees Alive?, but as much I have appreciated (as well as enjoyed) both Debbie S. Miller's text and Stacy Schuett's artwork, I really do not at all understand why with all the interesting factual information about trees and ecology that is present in Are Trees Alive? Debbie S. Miller has not included a bibliography. (hide spoiler)]

Trees

(view spoiler)[Yes indeed, for a single and all encompassing poem about trees as plants, as living entities, about what trees are, how they are used by both man and beast (although some specific details on logging and that over-logging can be very destructive to and for tres, to and for forests would also be appreciated) and of course how trees make our landscapes pretty and visually spectacular with their leaves, with their canopies, with their impressive trunks, Harry Behn’ 1992 picture book Trees certainly is lovely and sweetly lyrical. And most definitely (at least in my humble opinion), Trees is also perfect to be read aloud, to be shared with a child or with a group of children, since the verses Behn presents in Trees are also rhyming, and delightfully so not ever showing an awkward or halting rhyming scheme (as this, as a traditional rhyming scheme for me often makes a poem or a group of poems better for oral reading than blank or free verses). Therefore, a nice little lyrical introduction to trees is Harry Behn’s poem, although I do wish that for one Behn had in Trees not described trees as being imbued with kindness (as I really do think that this type of anthropomorphism is in fact rather problematic since kindness is a human sentiment and trees are not humans and humans are not trees) and that for two, Harry Behn claiming in Trees that trees are somehow incapable of doing harm is in my humble opinion just totally erroneous in and of itself (as some trees can be toxic, and well, if a tree falls during for example a severe windstorm, it certainly can and often does cause real harm, because it can hit cars, people etc. and cause major damage, injuries, even potential death).

But text wise, Trees and Harry Behn’s poem (and even with the two bones of textual contention I have described above) are still solidly four stars. And honestly, the only reason why my final rating for Trees has to be a high three and not yet four stars is that while I do think that James Endicott’s accompanying artwork is visually expressive, descriptive and as such sure does provide a successfully or at least a generally successful visual mirror to and for Harry Behn’s featured verses, I do wonder and question why Endicott makes use of so little green, why his colour scheme (and for pictures of trees at that) is often not all that verdant (and certainly not early enough so for my aesthetics). (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[Well and of course, it quite naturally makes a lot of common sense for Clyde Robert Bulla to keep the text for his 1960 picture book A Tree is a Plant sufficiently simple for the so-called picture book crowd. However and unfortunately, both my adult self and in particular my inner child are finding Bulla’s tone of narrative voice problematically patronising and his featured printed words for A Tree is a Plant often if not even for the most part rather overly exaggerated in and with their simplicity. Because while in A Tree is a Plant Clyde Robert Bulla definitely provides a lot of potentially interesting and educational details on trees in general and on apple trees in particular, the fact remains that while I am reading through and looking at A Tree is a Plant, the way Bulla is textually presenting his information to and for his intended audience, this all feels (at least in my humble opinion) rather too simple and almost ridiculously so even for younger children.

And well, that Clyde Robert Bulla’s textual tone and style for A Tree is a Plant equally seems rather overtly for and to me as though he, as though Bulla is preaching at and talking down to both potential readers and listeners of A Tree is a Plant (and quite patronisingly I think), yes, this certainly and majorly rubs me the wrong proverbial way and has definitely also majorly lowered my reading pleasure and my star rating for A Tree is a Plant from three to now only two stars. So indeed, not even the fact that I do find Stacey Schuett’s accompanying illustrations for A Tree is a Plant nicely descriptive and delightfully old fashioned can and will change that I simply find Clyde Robert Bulla’s text as it is presented in A Tree is a Plant extremely disappointing (and also, even with Schuett’s artwork, if A Tree is a Plant is to be used with young children, it might need to be explained what the general dress code was in 1960, that girls and women were made to wear dresses and skirts and not pants, not slacks). (hide spoiler)]

A Tree Is a Plant