Trees by Verlie Hutchens illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong

"Each tree offers a story a clue a dance that makes it its very own self."

We read about the maple; aspen; oak; palm; willow; apple tree; spruce; dogwod; sycamore; white pine; birch and sequoia.

Most of the trees in this book will be unfamiliar to Australian children but that is why you should read it. The tree names are beautiful and many are sure to be encountered in other books and perhaps in real life as young readers grow older. The other reasons to find and share this book are the beautiful art used in the illustrations and the poetic text. 

The artwork is full of sensitivity and whimsy and highlights the interconnectedness of all life; this is where the book truly shines. Some spreads invite readers to turn the book lengthwise, allowing the tall trees to pierce the sky. Others, like the panorama of the palm tree, playfully dance widthwise across the page, following the breeze. In many spreads, children are dwarfed by the trees’ magnificence, admiring them, playing beneath their leaves, or even being antagonized by a windy branch. School Library Journal

There is a feeling of exuberance. Throughout the well-laid-out book, the art, a skilled merging of printmaking and digital techniques, deftly complements the text, using facts about each tree to create divergent moods—including a surprisingly foreboding mood at the end. Language is elegant and accessible, with personification as the useful, key poetic device. Kirkus

It must have been hard for the library to decide where to place this book - poetry [811] or trees [582.16] - trees is where you find this book. The CIP (cataloging in publication) put it in poetry. It's a library dilemma but either way this is a special book.

Here are three text samples:

Birch, when other trees wear lifeless black, struts in royal etmine robes.

Willow dances in her narrow kimono with elegant sweeping sleeves wafting gentle wind.

Aspen, tall and graceful, dances on her tippy toes. Her golden leaves like castanets shimmer in the breeze.

Click here to see more pages

I am a little curious as to how this book came to be in the school library where I work as a volunteer. The inscription by the Teacher-Librarian says it was a donation - I wonder who or why?  This book was published in 2019. This book is now out of print but you may find it in a public or school library - even perhaps here in Australia!

Jing Jing Tsong is a mom, musician, and surfer whose grown-up job is drawing pictures. Her technique, which layers color and texture, is influenced by her experiences working in traditional stone lithography and monoprints. She is the illustrator of Seven Samosas and the New York Times bestselling A Bucket of Blessings, both written by Kabir and Surishtha Sehgal; First Morning Sun by Aimee Reed; and Feathers and Hair, What Animals Wear by Jennifer Ward; among others. Jing Jing and her husband live on an island in Washington state.