A tree is a community

This lovely tribute to trees and the roles they play in ecosystems combines sparse, elegant text with warm, expressive illustrations that will fully engage young audiences. Seen from the vantage points of a young girl and boy, the story begins in spring with imaginative descriptions of the changes taking place ("Next thing you know, / PRESTO-- / sap inside / those cold, / bare limbs get busy! / Leaves / UNFOLD like a / new dress"), starting with buds and roots and branching out (literally) to bugs, birds, lizards, squirrels, and raccoons over the ensuing summer, fall, and winter seasons. The text highlights the interconnectedness of this thriving community and explains how the tree provides shelter, filters the air, helps retain soil and water levels, and offers comfortable, cooling shade. The pleasingly detailed illustrations feature an array of bright pastel hues against more muted greens and browns and include kid's-eye-view close-ups. With a brief bibliography, this makes a great choice for a read-aloud introduction to units on ecology and conservation.

So many reasons to love trees! Writing in animated free verse that calls urgently to be read aloud, Harrison celebrates a tree's residents, from bugs that "CRAWL and / CLIMB and / SCURRY up that trunk" to birds that nest or peck out cavities just right for later comers like opossums and raccoons to "SETTLE in. / And maybe / they make / their own babies? / For sure!" Meanwhile, the tree has plenty of "tree business" to conduct, such as making flowers and seeds, breathing out the oxygen that "we BREATHE IN! / For sure," keeping soil in place, and holding "her families / safe in her STRONG arms" when "storms HOWL / and thunder goes / BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" As small creatures crawl or flit through leafy boughs above in Cosgrove's bustling, populous illustrations, two brown-skinned children below blow bubbles or peaceably share a rope swing in the cool shade. "And best of all," the poem ends, when spring comes round again, new seeds will drop so that "very soon / we will have / a fine new tree. / OH YES!" In a personal afterword, the author describes a certain beloved tree in his yard and suggests that readers might pick one for themselves: "I think trees love it when we love them." An effervescent appreciation of all that trees do and are. (bibliography, index) (Informational picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.