Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

Busy Tree

Busy Tree

Jennifer Ward
Illustrator:  Lisa Falkenstern 
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 7
Marshall Cavendish Corp/Ccb, 2009   ISBN: 0761455507

When you first look at a tree you might not realize that trees are busy places. All kinds of things happen in, on, and around them. In this book, readers are introduced to an oak tree. They get to meet a mole that tunnels beneath the trees roots. They get to see three cunning little chipmunks that are collecting acorns on the ground. High up in the branches three baby birds sleep in a nest. In the trunk of the tree a yellow eyed owl sleeps away the day, coming out to “prowl” at night.

With gentle rhymes and musical words, Jennifer Ward shows her readers that trees really are busy places, sharing her love of nature with everyone who reads this book. Her carefully crafted couplets are beautifully complimented by Lisa Falkenstern’s gorgeously rich paintings.