Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Winter Trees
Illustrator: Leslie Evans
Picture Book
For ages 7 to 9
Charlesbridge, 2008 ISBN: 1580891683
One cold snowy day a boy is out walking with his dog. The trees that once were so lush with leaves are now bare, and as the boy walks by them he shows us how we can tell which tree is which. A maple tree has an egg shape, while the beech looks more like an oval. Then there are the evergreen that stay green all year round though “older needles near the trunk/drop off and fall onto the ground.”
Even in the depths of winter you will see that “tan leaves still cling to limbs and branches” when you look up at a beech tree. Later, before it is time to go inside the boy uses some yellow beech tree leaves to serve as hair for a snowman that he builds.
With its image filled and very musical rhyming text, this picture book will take young readers on a delightful journey though snowy woods. They will learn how to identify trees and they will also learn how important these trees are to the animals that love in the woods. A section at the back of the book provides readers with more information about the seven kinds of trees that are mentioned in the book.
Leslie Evan’s multimedia illustrations are a joy to look at, and they perfectly compliment Carole Gerber’s rhymes.
This author and illustrator duo have also created another wonderful book about nature and the seasons called Leaf Jumpers.
