Books for Children

Tree Books Reviewed by Joyce Mesrobian To a child, a tree is nice. A child can play hide-and-go-seek behind its trunk, picnic under its cool shade, swing f r o m its l o w e r branches, or jump into a pile of its fallen leaves. A child can listen to the music of birds singing in it, watch squirrels racing up and down it, smell the fragrance of the blossoms blooming on it, or eat the fruit fallen from it. A child can talk to it, laugh at it, kick it, or give it a great big hug. Yes, as the title of a Caldecott Medal winner attests, A Tree Is

Nice. To a child a tree is a s o u r c e o f wonder. A tree is big; even a small tree seems huge to a child. And a tall tree is like the hugest giant! Yet, it stands there in one place - - big but friendly. And it does magical things like grow flowers on its branches and then change them into leaves. It can turn its green leaves into the colors of red and yellow and orange and brown. A tree can keep its leaves or drop t h e m to the g r o u n d . D u r i n g cold, snowy days of winter it can stand with no leaves at all; and with the first warm winds of spring, it can grow the leaves right back again. Yes, a tree is wonderful and magical and always changing the way it looks during its annual cycle (Hello, Tree]; A Busy

Year; Cherry Tree). To a child a tree is always there - standing, waiting for him or her. But will the tree always be there? More and more authors and illustrators of children's books are cautioning young children about the dangers of the destruction o f our e a r t h ' s natural resources. They urge the saving of the tropical rain forest (The Great Kapok Tree), retaining at least an oasis of trees in the cityscape (The Forgotten

Joyce Mesrobian is an early childhood consultant and oral storyteller in Chicago and its suburbs. 28

ForesO, or preserving the ecological balance o f the forest (Mighty Tree; The Gift of the Tree; Night Tree). A new didacticism seems to be creeping into picture books with a trend toward moralizing. This seems inevitable, given the worldwide focus on saving our planet from ecological destruction. But let us keep in mind that the primary purpose of picture books is to delight the young listener and reader. All else, no matter how noble or well-intentioned, should be kept at a minimum. To a child, a tree is beautiful. It sings with whispers of wind. It glistens with beams of sunshine. It drips with drops of rain. Listen to the poetic w o r d s a b o u t trees: " T r e e s are the

kindest things I k n o w / T h e y do no harm, they simply grow" (Trees); or "Around you, branches curl and twigs droop with leaves. Some trees have leaves like mittens or spear points or tiny, dainty fans" (Hello, Tree!). To a child, a tree is giving. It gives the child a place to run to; a place to hide; a forest for games. It gives shade for picnics and oranges, apples, and cherries for food. A tree can give other things, as well, such as wood to build houses, w o o d to c h a n g e into paper for p a r t y hats and kites and books, and wood to make fiddles (The Heart of the Wood). A tree is giving, always giving (The Giving Tree). It even gave the paper on which this article is written.

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Bibliography

Anholt, Laurence. The Forgotten Forest. San Francisco: Sierra Club, 1992. 32 pp., $14.95. Ages four to eight. Over the years, a land once covered with trees is cleared away for towns and cities. One forest remains - - "an island in the endless, noisy sea of the city" - - for the play and laughter of the children. One day, bulldozers appear to raze the last forest, and the woods sigh with the sounds of weeping. Expressive watercolor illustrations harmonize with the text to reaffirm the symbiotic bonds between people and nature.

Behm, Harry. James Endicott, Illustrator. Trees. New York: Holt, 1992. 32 pp., $14.95. All ages. Written on recycled paper, this gentle poem speaks eloquently of the wonder of trees. The simple rhythmic music of the words blends with the uncluttered illustrations, as the poet celebrates the miracle of trees: "They are the first when day's begun / To touch the b e a m s o f m o r n i n g sun./ They are the last to hold the light/ When evening changes into night."

S U M M E R 1993

Bond, Ruskin. Allan Eitzen, Illustrator. Cherry Tree. New York: Boyds Mill Press, 1991. 32 pp., $14.95. Ages five to eight. A six-year-old girl plants a cherry seed in the r o c k y soil o f the Himalayan foothills. A sprig sprouts and grows into a seedling and then into a young tree. Girl and tree continue to grow together through the years until, on the spring of her tenth year, the miracle of a cherry blossom appears on the tree. Graceful illustrations enhance this lyrical tale of the joyous wonder of life.

Bunting, Eve. Ted Rand, illustrator. Night Tree. San Diego: Harcourt, 1991. 33 pp., $13.95. Ages four to eight. On a cold Christmas Eve, a boy and his family travel to Luke's Forest for their annual holiday visit to their favorite tree, which they decorate with popcorn chains, apples, tangerines, and sunflower-seed balls as gifts for the animals of the forest. Then, they drink hot chocolate and sing songs of the season and of their childhood before returning home. With full-color, richly detailed illustrations, Night Tree is destined to become a Christmas classic.

Cherry, Lynne. The Great Kapok Great. San Diego: Harcourt, 1990. 32 pp., $14.95. Ages four to eight. Lynne Cherry traveled to the Amazon jungle to research, write, and illustrate this timely story of a woodcutter in the Brazilian rain forest. When the chopper, weary from his chore of chopping a kapok tree, stops to nap, forest creatures (monkeys, anteaters, birds of v a r y i n g hue, a j a g u a r , a three-toed sloth, etc.) beseechingly whisper in his ear not to destroy their home. Exquisite watercolor paintings and an impassioned text awaken readers to the awesome beauty of the rain forest and its native inhabitants.

Davol, Marguerite. Sheila Hamanaka, illustrator. The Heart of the Wood. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992. 32 pp., $14.00. Ages three to eight. The rhythmic prose and the bold brushstrokes on bark paper bring joy to this cumulative tale of a song sung by a nightingale and carried in the heart of a woodcutter who topples a tree that is later trimmed and transformed into a fiddle, which continues to sing the song in the heart of the wood. A joyous tale that begs to be read aloud!

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Gackenbach, Dick. Mighty Tree. San Diego: Harcourt, 1981.32 pp., $13.95. Ages four to eight. From three tiny seeds grow three huge trees in the forest. Each serves a purpose: one is downed and taken to the mill and made into useful products - - books, grocery bags, and kites; another is taken to the city, where it provides pleasure during the Christmas holiday season; and the third, the most important of all, remains in the forest to give shelter to animals and seeds to the wind to carry the promise of even more trees in the forest. Lively illustrations engage young readers in this timely tale of the conservation of our natural resources.

Lionni, Leo. A Busy Year. New York: Knopf, 1992. 32 pp., $7.99. Ages three to seven. Four-time Caldecott Honor Book author Leo Lionni celebrates the seasons of a growing tree in this tale of twin mice, Willie and Woody, who befriend and nurture the tree throughout the year. And at Christmastime, tree and mice, as friends, rejoice to-

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gether and look forward to another busy year. Lionni's captivating collages add to the delight and joy of this around-the-seasons concept book.

Ryder, Joanne. Michael Hays, illustrator. Hello, Tree.t New York: Lodestar, 1991.32 pp., $13.95. Ages three to seven. A tree can be a special friend that will grow and change with you, cool you with shade, and whisper to you through its leafy branches. The poetic prose and vibrant full-color illustrations help children discover the treasures of having their o w n special tree.

Silverstein, Shel. The Giving Tree. New York: Harper, 1964. 56 pp., $9.95. All ages. " O n c e there was a tree and she loved a little boy." So begins a moving parable of giving and loving. As the boy grows to manhood, the tree g i v e s g e n e r o u s l y o f her b o u n t y through the years until the time when the boy is an old man and the tree is reduced to a stump. Simple black-ink drawings underscore the eloquence of this poignant parable.

Tresselt, Alvin. Henri Sorensen, illustrator. The Gift of the Tree. New York: Lothrop, 1992. 32 pp., $14.00. Ages four to eight. The life cycle of a proud oak tree is chronicled through the seasons as it provides shelter and food to a host of creatures, great and small. Even when it crashes to the forest floor from old age and slowly returns to the earth, it continues to provide shelter in its hollow trunk and sustenance with its rich loam. Muted oil paintings speak to the beauty of the tree's transformations. Udry, Janice May. Marc Simot, illustrator. A Tree Is N i c e . New York: Harper, 1956. 32 pp., $11.95. Ages three to eight. This is a radiant picture book that describes with eloquent simplicity the delight in interacting with a tree: climbing its trunk, rolling in its leaves, swinging from its branches, or seeking shade and napping under its protective arms. A Caldecot Medal classic, t[

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