Still, a solid foundation, a taproot to appreciating the incredible diversity and contribution of trees to our everyday...
A rangy introduction to trees and how they sustain our very existence.
Tate jumps right in, letting readers know that trees are sometimes obscured by the forest and taken for granted. But, as she points out, trees provide creatures of every stripe with indispensable shelter, food, oxygen, water filtration, soil enrichment, and a source for heat, with their very beauty in evidence on every page via sharp, chromatic photographs. She tells of trees’ fundamental importance to the earth, air, water, and fire—no other subject comes close to being so important to these elemental states—and also, through various boxed items, provides good, attention-grabbing facts: ironwood sinks; read time and weather in tree rings. Perhaps most significantly, she conveys a sense of how trees serve as barometers to environmental health and trouble. The text is for the most part aptly paced and communicative, with minor episodes of droning: “A carefully planted and managed woodlot is made up of tree species selected for particular qualities like speed of growth or the type of wood produced.” Only rarely is the subject not explained adequately, as in phytoremediation (a word with forgettable value here): “Even though you can’t see them, tree roots play a critical role in keeping forest ecosystems in good shape.” Because...?
Still, a solid foundation, a taproot to appreciating the incredible diversity and contribution of trees to our everyday lives. (resources, glossary index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4598-0582-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A deceptively simple, tender tale in which respect, resilience, and hope triumph.
Generations of human and animal families grow and change, seen from the point of view of the red oak Wishing Tree that shelters them all.
Most trees are introverts at heart. So says Red, who is over 200 years old and should know. Not to mention that they have complicated relationships with humans. But this tree also has perspective on its animal friends and people who live within its purview—not just witnessing, but ultimately telling the tales of young people coming to this country alone or with family. An Irish woman named Maeve is the first, and a young 10-year-old Muslim girl named Samar is the most recent. Red becomes the repository for generations of wishes; this includes both observing Samar’s longing wish and sporting the hurtful word that another young person carves into their bark as a protest to Samar’s family’s presence. (Red is monoecious, they explain, with both male and female flowers.) Newbery medalist Applegate succeeds at interweaving an immigrant story with an animated natural world and having it all make sense. As Red observes, animals compete for resources just as humans do, and nature is not always pretty or fair or kind. This swiftly moving yet contemplative read is great for early middle grade, reluctant or tentative readers, or precocious younger students.
A deceptively simple, tender tale in which respect, resilience, and hope triumph. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-04322-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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