Many people have a hard time understanding why some adults love children's literature. Why would a grownup like to look at picture books, which are childish and surely too simple for an adult reader?
It is true that some picture books have a simple story line, one that caters just for children, but there are others that present readers with a bigpicture concept, a story that explores a universal principal that will resonate with readers of all ages.
Today's picture book is just such a title, and it is one that I have put on my to-look-at-again-and-again shelf. It is book that is beautiful on many levels.
Tree: A little story about big things
Danny Parker
Illustrated by Matt Ottley
Picture Book
For ages 5 and up
Little Hare, 2012, 9781742978604
A little seed lands in the shelter of a big tree’s curved
roots, and there it germinates and sprouts. Though it is “delicate and frail”
the little tree begins to grow. Sheltered by its large and strong neighbor from
the baking sun, heavy rains and snow, the little tree flourishes. And then, one
night, a terrible storm blows through, and though it has withstood many a storm
before, this time the older tree, the little tree’s protector, is not able to
withstand the ferocity of the wind, rain and lightning.
When the “uproar
and confusion” passes, and the quiet returns, something is different in the
little tree’s world. Its protector is gone. Big machines rumble and roar around
the little tree and it is left to struggle in a wasteland without any other
tree around or near it.
Loss and change
can be devastating, whether you are a tree or an animal or a person. With minimal
text and incredibly beautiful illustrations the author and illustrator of this
remarkable picture book helps readers to see the cycle of life, death and
renewal in a powerful and life-affirming way. We see how the older generation
protects the younger until the younger has to stand on its own and face what
life sends its way.
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