List

In this simple, touching picture book about the healing power of a loving community, a girl's grandpa and her neighbors help her grow an olive tree in a war-torn land.

A BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Salam's grandpa says that olive trees are strong and that their roots run deep in their Palestinian land. They connect everyone--from the farmer who presses the olives into oil to the baker who uses the oil in his taboon.

Salam plants her own seed and is eager to see it grow. She waits... she waters... she asks the seed to hurry... until finally...a sprout! But one day soldiers come and destroy everything in their path...including Salam's new olive tree. Salam is crushed--though she doesn't have to worry. Her grandpa gathers their neighbors and, together, they plant olive trees as far as the eye can see. 

With spare, sensitive prose and gentle illustrations, debut author-illustrator Hazar Elbayya delivers a powerful story about the beauty of the olive tree and the importance of community in the face of hardship.

Trees can't tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. . . .

Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"—people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with a crow named Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this wishtree watches over the neighborhood.

You might say Red has seen it all. 

Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experience as a wishtree is more important than ever.

Funny, deep, warm, and nuanced, this is Katherine Applegate at her very best—writing from the heart, and from a completely unexpected point of view.
 

Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. Now that’s interactive—and magical!

It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. The collage-and-watercolor art evokes the bright simplicity of Lois Ehlert and Eric Carle and the interactive concept will delight fans of Pat the Bunny. Combining a playful spirit and a sense of wonder about nature, Christie Matheson has created a new modern classic that is a winner in every season—and every story time!

And don't miss the follow-up, Touch the Brightest Star!

When a tree falls, is its story over?

There are many ways a tree’s story could end: Gobbled up by a bird as a tiny seed. Damaged by wind or ice or fire. Chopped down and hauled away. But some trees—this tree—survives. And grows old. Riddled with scars, cracks, and crevices, it becomes a place creatures large and small call home. 

One day, after standing tall for centuries, this tree will fall. But even then, is its story over? Or will it continue to nurture the forest and its creatures for many years to come? Complete with additional information about the role trees play in a forest ecosystem, this sweeping story invites readers of all ages to celebrate the incredible life cycle and afterlife of trees.

An imaginary bilingual English/Spanish tale of self-discovery told by a child who grows, learns about the natural world, embraces others, and is free to become who they are meant to be--a child as unique as a tree.

What does it mean to be like a tree?
For one young child, it all begins
as a tiny seed
that is free to grow
and reach out to others
while standing strong and tall-
just like a tree in the natural world.

With this gentle and imaginative story about becoming your fullest self, Maya Gonzalez empowers young readers to dream and reach... and to be as free and unique as trees.

Once there stood a giant fir tree that stretched to the sun. One stormy day, a great gust came. The tree creaked, and cracked, and collapsed! And the tree’s new life as a nurse log began... 

When old trees fall to the forest floor, they can take centuries to decompose, becoming home to all sorts of organisms along the way. These nurse logs are unique ecosystems that support hundreds of rare and important plants, creatures, and fungi. They provide nutrients for tree seedlings, hideaways for animals, shelters in the winter, and protection from the elements. With snappy text and lush illustrations, this book invites curious readers to step into a tiny ecosystem that’s truly like no other.

A mysterious voice has been speaking to Louise in her dreams. She and her brother Merwin are Sycamore seeds, who hope to one day set down roots and become big trees. But when a fire forces them to leave their mama tree prematurely, they find themselves catapulted into the unknown, far from home. Alone and unprepared, they must use their wits and imagination to navigate a dangerous world--filled with dinosaurs, meteors, and volcanoes!--and the fear of never finding a safe place to grow up. As the mysterious voice gets louder, Louise comes to realize their mission in life may be much bigger than either of them ever could have imagined!

Brimming with humor, wonder, mystery, and a profound sense of hope, Big Tree is a trailblazing adventure, illustrated with nearly 300 pages of breathtaking pictures. It is Selznick's most imaginative and far-reaching work to date and a singular reading experience for the whole family.

Through a hole in the book’s cover, an owl invites you inside to meet a majestic tree and all its forest inhabitants during the changing seasons. With clever peekaboo holes throughout, each page reveals a new set of animals playing and living in the tree—baby bears frolicking in the spring, bees buzzing around apples in the summer, squirrels storing nuts in the fall, and finally the lone owl keeping warm during the winter chill—until another year begins. . . . 

Children will love seeing a new set of animals appear and then disappear as each page is turned, and along the way they’ll learn about the seasons and how a forest and its inhabitants change throughout the year.

Children ages 2-5 can learn all about how an apple tree grows and changes throughout the year with this interactive board book that features layered die-cut pages throughout. Simple callouts to the various parts of the tree, such as "roots," "leaves," and "trunk," invite young readers to see how the tree changes with the seasons. Packed with fun facts and accessible information, this first introduction to trees is perfect for curious toddlers.
 

Be a Tree! is a lyrical, gorgeously illustrated look at the majesty of trees--and what humans can learn from them.

We are all like trees: our spines, trunks; our skin, bark; our hearts giving us strength and support, like heartwood. We are fueled by air and sun.

And, like humans, trees are social. They "talk" to spread information; they share food and resources. They shelter and take care of one another. They are stronger together.

In this gorgeous and poetic celebration of one of nature's greatest creations, acclaimed author Maria Gianferrari and illustrator Felicita Sala compare us to the beauty and majesty of trees--and gently share the ways in which trees can inspire us to be better people.

Stand tall. 
Stretch your branches to the sun. 
Be a tree!

Spectacular illustrations rendered in oil paint, and a rhyming text that describes a tree's activities from its roots to its branches, introduce young readers to the amazing activities that go on in a tree. Acorns nibbled by chipmunks, ants scurrying across a trunk, a spider spinning a web, leaves "breathing out air for all to breathe in"--everything adds up to a "busy tree" for all to "come and see."

This gorgeous picture book shows how one little girl's careful tending of a pecan tree creates the living center of a loving, intergenerational Black family. For Earth Day and every day! 

Before her grandchildren climbed the towering tree,

explored its secret nests,

raced to its sturdy trunk,

read in its cool shade,

or made pies with its pecans...

Nell buried a seed.

And just as Nell's tree grows and thrives with her love and care, so do generations of her close-knit family.

Inspired by the pecan trees of the creators' own childhoods, Anne Wynter's lyrical picture book, brought to life with breathtaking illustrations by Daniel Miyares, brims with wonder and love.

Dani lives on a city block carpeted with concrete--until a street tree moves in.

The tree brings the wonders of nature to Dani's doorstep and is good company through the days and seasons. But it will need help to thrive . . .

This love letter to the many gifts of trees reminds us to take care of our neighbors--even those with roots, branches, and leaves

Two siblings journey into the woods in a tender story of branching out and new growth from acclaimed writer Andrea Zimmerman and New York Times bestselling illustrator Jing Jing Tsong.

If I were a tree, I know how I'd be.
My trunk strong and wide, my limbs side to side,
I'd stand towering tall, high above all,
My leaves growing big, and buds on each twig.
If I were a tree, that's how I'd be.

The sister has camped in the forest many times before. The brother is nervous for his first overnight trip. As the illustrations in this multifaceted picture book show the siblings discovering the woods, the text celebrates the strength and grace of the trees that surround them, through evocative verse that speaks to all five senses:

If I were a tree, I know what I'd smell.
Sweet honey and bees, and skunk on the breeze.
I'd smell smoke in the air, the breath of a bear,
Old fungus decay, and rain on the way.
If I were a tree, that's what I'd smell.

And with this new knowledge, the siblings are able to overcome their greatest challenge yet. Together, Andrea Zimmerman's wise poem and Jing Jing Tsong's kaleidoscopic art show how connections with the natural world can inspire us to live fully in the present and look hopefully to the future.

A girl writes a poem to a tree, but then is surprised when the tree writes back in this wondrous and warm picture book about friendship, nature, and the power of poetry.

The snow has melted, the buttercups are blooming, and Sylvia celebrates winter's end by writing a poem. She ties her poem to a birch tree, hoping that it doesn't count as littering if it makes the world more beautiful. But when she returns, a new poem is waiting for her. Could the tree really be writing back? Sylvia decides to test her theory, and so begins a heartwarming poetic correspondence...as well as an unexpected new friendship.

Lyrical and sweetly satisfying, Poetree is about finding beauty in the world around you, and new friends in unlikely places.