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Trees
Coats, Mary Jane, The Almond Orchard, Simon and Schuster, 1991.
Grades PreK-2
Narrating in her grandmother's voice, Coats describes raising
almonds in California at the turn of the century, when harvesting
was handwork done by the family with some neighbors' help and the
crop was dried in the sun; the year's cycle is completed with winter
pruning and the sweet spring bloom. The narrative continues to
the present, with expanded acreage and modern equipment.
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Fleming, Denise, Where
Once There Was a Wood, Henry Holt, 2000. (Grades PreK-2)
The simple,
hand-lettered text introduces the wild creatures and plants that
once thrived in a wooded area, before their displacement by a
housing development. Suggestions for creating backyard habitats
and brief directions for establishing butterfly and hummingbird
gardens are included. |
Gackenbach, Dick,
Mighty Trees, Voyager, 1996. (Grades K-3)
Three conifers begin to grow at the same time. At maturity, one
is cut to manufacture paper (including gift-wrap, other party goods,
and ``even this book''); one becomes a giant Christmas tree (for
Rockefeller Center); while, next to the two stumps, the ``most important''
tree still stands, home to an unrealistic peaceable kingdom of birds
and beasts--eagle and titmouse, nocturnal raccoon and owl, and many
more, all together under a sunny sky. |
Gill, Shelley, and Shannon Cartwright,
The Last American Rainforest: Tongass, Paws IV, 1997. (4-6)
This full-color picture book explores Tongass--the last American
rainforest--through the eyes of a Tlingit Indian girl whose search
for ancient tree roots leads to the discovery of her own family history. |
Hiscock, Bruce, The
Big Tree, Boyds
Mills, 1999. (Grades K-3)
The story of a maple tree in New York
state, how it began from a seed, grew up in the forest primeval,
survived the pioneer's axe to live in a family's yard, has provided
shade and syrup to generations passing on its way to becoming the
venerable giant it is now.
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Jordan, Christmas Tree Farm, Scholastic,
1993. (Grades PreK-2)
Describes the activities that take place on a Christmas tree farm
in Rhode Island throughout each season of the year.
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Locker, Thomas, Sky Tree, HarperCollins,
1995. (Grades PreK-2)
Science and art appreciation
join forces in this variation on the theme of changing seasons.
Accomplished oil paintings in a high romantic style show a single
tree and its surroundings in transition-in deep winter or at
the peak of autumn, for example. |
Oppenheim, Joanne, Tseng, Jean, and
Mou Sien Tseng, Have You Seen Trees? Scholastic, 1995.
Vibrant watercolors impart
new luster to this poem first published nearly 30 years ago. "Have
you seen summer trees?/ Shade-me-from-the-light trees./ Whisper-in-the-night
trees?" The delicate brush strokes and glowing colors of the
Tsengs' illustrations
celebrate trees in all their varied glory, from the sun-drenched
yellows and greens of fresh buds to the flame reds of autumn maples,
to the brittle, icy blues and whites of winter-coated branches.
Children jump in
a pile of raked leaves, laze under summer willows and gather 'round
the campfire, a glowing circle of light beneath a star-speckled
sky. |
Pfeffer, Wendy, and Robin Brickman,
A Log's Life, Simon and Schuster, 1998. (Grades K-3)
An introduction to the life, death, and decay of an
oak tree. The simple, informative text presents the complex cast
of characters residing in or on the living tree as well as the
decomposing log - from woodpeckers, squirrels, and porcupines to
carpenter ants, millipedes, slugs, and fungi. The descriptions
of this rich ecosystem are enhanced by striking illustrations of
three-dimensional paper sculptures, often so realistic as to seem
to be preserved natural specimens. |
Sohi, Morteza E.,
Look What I Did With a Leaf, Walker and Co., 1993. (Grades K-3)
A unique combination
of nature craft, art theory, and field guide. The bulk of the
book is an album of collage animals formed out of leaves in an
array of sizes, shapes, and autumnal colors. Each white page
is graced by a single easily identifiable creature, among the
most striking a butterfly, a cow, and a peacock. In a conversational
tone with rich vocabulary, the text discusses considerations
in creating the projects and encourages a variety of texture
and effect through the use of color, contrast, shape, and size. "Art
Notes" provide tidbits of peripheral advice for simplifying
the projects. The book concludes with step-by-step how-to information
for readers to assemble their own masterpieces, an explanation
and diagram of the life cycle of a leaf, and a simple field guide
that identifies the samples used in the models. |
Tresselt, Alvin, and Henri Sorensen, The
Gift of the Tree, HarperCollins,
1992. (Grades PreK-2)
Originally
published as The Dead Tree, this book focuses on the
majesty of the oak tree in maturity, through gradual decline to
final decay. The interdependence of plant and animal life is clearly
evident, including both those that seek its shelter and those that
hasten the decaying process to prepare the soil for new life. Seasons
and years fade one into another through impressionistic woodland
scenes that form the background for the oak and various animals
that appear in realistic form. Color tones reflect the seasons,
as they are softly muted in fall and winter; more vivid in spring
and summer. |
Winter, Jeanette,
The Christmas Tree Ship, Philomel, 1994. (Grades K-3)
Based on the
true story of Herman Schuenemann, who, beginning in 1887, sailed
down Lake Michigan each year from upper Michigan to bring a shipload
of Christmas trees to the city. One year, tragedy strikes and his
ship goes down in a storm. "When the snows of November blew in again," however,
his wife and daughters decide to carry on the tradition, and the
tree-laden schooner sails once again. |
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