Winter Trees - Carole Gerber

Illustrated by Leslie Evans
Charlesbridge, 2008 (paper 2009)
Paper $6.95
32 pages
My rating: 4

I've been looking for TREE books to accentuate my 4th grade Judaic partner's unit on TuBishvat. This book was a great find!

The illustrations are linoleum block prints, with water color and collage. Really lovely.

The rhyming text looks simple but has a sophisticated complexity:

"They stand distinct as skeletons.
We clearly see the form of each:
the egg shape of the maple tree;
the taller oval of the beech..."

We learn about trees by what they look like in winter - bare decidious shapes, fuller coniferous forms.

Trees discussed: maple, beech, birch, oak, yellow poplar, eastern hemlock, white spruce....these are MY trees, the New England trees that i grew up with, played in and under, knew well. I've been in southern Arizona for 7 1/2 years now, and I know the major cacti, but it's time to learn the native trees!