The beauty and majesty of deciduous trees seem to bring out the philosopher in many authors, resulting in a wealth of...
Chabbert imagines a world without trees—until friends discover a sapling.
This first-person narrative establishes the speaker as a grown-up remembering a story from his father’s youth, then describing his own. The elder man loved playing in the grass; Guridi’s field fills two thirds of the vertical space on the double-page spread. The verdant scene contrasts with the 13 green blades in the gray concrete jungle surrounding the son. It is a friend who shows him the young tree, doomed, it is revealed, due to the imminent construction of luxury condos. The boys rescue the tender growth, replanting it far away. Aspects of the charcoal, ink, gouache, pencil, and digital art are reminiscent of Oliver Jeffers’ work—the boys’ blue and orange silhouettes with large heads and slender bodies, the collage elements. Ultimately readers learn that “Years later…. / I had grown. / The tree had, too.” There is a clear message about the superiority of nature to the man-made, but the text sometimes seems aimed at adults more than children. The ending is confusing (the boys do not appear to have grown at all); it is neither logical nor very hopeful—there is only the one, titular, last tree.
The beauty and majesty of deciduous trees seem to bring out the philosopher in many authors, resulting in a wealth of options for exploring growth and environmental responsibility. This is not a first choice. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-77138-728-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A quiet, warm look at the bond between grandfather and grandson.
After a visit, an African-American grandfather and grandson say farewell under a big yellow moon. Granpa tells Max it is the same moon he will see when he gets home.
This gently told story uses Max’s fascination with the moon’s ability to “tag along” where his family’s car goes as a metaphor for his grandfather’s constant love. Separating the two relatives is “a swervy-curvy road” that travels up and down hills, over a bridge, “past a field of sleeping cows,” around a small town and through a tunnel. No matter where Max travels, the moon is always there, waiting around a curve or peeking through the trees. But then “[d]ark clouds tumbled across the night sky.” No stars, no nightingales and no moon are to be found. Max frets: “Granpa said it would always shine for me.” Disappointed, Max climbs into bed, missing both the moon and his granpa. In a dramatic double-page spread, readers see Max’s excitement as “[s]lowly, very slowly, Max’s bedroom began to fill with a soft yellow glow.” Cooper uses his signature style to illustrate both the landscape—sometimes viewed from the car windows or reflected in the vehicle’s mirror—and the expressive faces of his characters. Coupled with the story’s lyrical text, this is a lovely mood piece.
A quiet, warm look at the bond between grandfather and grandson. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: June 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-399-23342-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
A young naturalist’s delight.
A child longs to be a tree.
Eve, a young Black girl, lives on the edge of a forest in an unnamed African country where she can see baobab trees in the distance. She tells her parents she’d like to be a baobab tree, and when they reply that being a tree means being patient and taking care of animals and people, she insists that she’s up for the job—indeed she dubs herself Eco Girl as she sets out seed for the birds, looking after them the way the baobab does. To celebrate Eve’s birthday the next day, the family leaves to visit Grandma, who lives in the forest. On the big day, Eve welcomes a rainstorm, arms outstretched like a tree. When the rain stops, she and her family walk further into the forest while her Grandma leads, carrying a wrapped baobab seedling for Eve to plant in a very special place. This is a charming story that captures children’s curiosity about the natural world and their eagerness to be old enough to do the things they want to do. Illustrations drawn in thick black lines with beautiful washes of greens and punches of yellow, blue, and brown make for a warm and affectionate depiction of nature; readers will close this book eager to follow Eve’s worthy example. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A young naturalist’s delight. (information on baobab and other trees) (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2809-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
