An appealing, celebratory offering with an urgent message.
An homage to trees in poetry, prose, and art.
Artist and activist Holten has gathered more than 50 contributions from writers, artists, philosophers, scientists, and others, all sharing thoughts about our indelible connection to trees. Some entries are as brief as a sentence or two: “I am the seed of the free. I intend to bear great fruit,” Sojourner Truth writes. There’s a recipe for making oak gall ink, which can be used for writing (as it was for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution) or staining a piece of furniture. Holten includes the lyrics to Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” as well as a song from singer/songwriter Susan McKeown. Some entries refer to particular species: an ancient elm cut down by the British during the Revolutionary War; evergreens, whose tips can be used for sun tea or salt; junipers, apricots, maples, and a baobab, among many others. When artist Maya Lin took on the project of creating a sculptural installation at Madison Square Park, she chose to transport Atlantic white cedars from the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, trees that had died due to extreme weather events related to climate change, to create a ghost forest—temporal, transient, and a stark warning about the perils of climate change, an issue that concerns many writers. Mary Reynolds writes about the creation of the rewilding project We Are The ARK, while Indigenous leader Nemo Andy Guiquita reports on threats to the Amazonian rainforest. William Corwin and Colin Renfrew, thinking about the origins of human creativity, speculate about why Paleolithic humans did not depict trees in their cave drawings. The book is graced throughout with Holten’s delicate artwork: dense threadlike forests; drawings of seeds, leaves, and roots; and her inventive Tree Alphabet. Other contributors include Zadie Smith, Amitav Ghosh, Richard Powers, Ada Lovelace, and Robin Wall Kimmerer. Even Plato makes an appearance. Ross Gay provides the introduction.
An appealing, celebratory offering with an urgent message.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781953534682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Tin House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.
The third volume in the Elephant Whisperer series.
In this follow-up to An Elephant in My Kitchen, Malby-Anthony continues her loving portrait of the Thula Thula wildlife reserve, which she co-founded in 1998 with her late husband, South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony, who published the first book in the series, The Elephant Whisperer, in 2009. Following his death in 2012, Malby-Anthony sought to honor his legacy by continuing his vision “to create a massive conservancy in Zululand, incorporating our land and other small farms and community land into one great big game park.” At the same time, the elephants gave her “a sense of purpose and direction.” In the Zulu language, thula means quiet, and though the author consistently seeks to provide that calm to her charges, peace and tranquility are not always easy to come by at Thula Thula. In this installment, Malby-Anthony discusses many of the challenges faced by her and her staff, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. These included an aggressive, 2-ton rhino named Thabo; the profound loss felt by all upon the death of their elephant matriarch, Frankie; difficulty obtaining permits and the related risk of having to relocate or cull some of their animals; the fear of looting and fire due to civil unrest in the region; and the ongoing and potentially deadly struggles with poachers. Throughout, the author also shares many warm, lighthearted moments, demonstrating the deep bond felt among the humans and animals at the reserve and the powerful effects of the kindness of strangers. “We are all working in unity for the greater good, for the betterment of Thula Thula and all our wildlife….We are humbled by the generosity and love, both from our guests and friends, and from strangers all around the world,” writes the author. “People’s open-hearted support kept us alive in the darkest times.”
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781250284259
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
© 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.
