Tree

Tree

By Patricia Hegarty and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup
Published by Little Tiger Press

Tree is the stunning, illustrated book by the award winning illustrator Britta Teckentrup. The book explores the beauty of the changing seasons shown by following the life cycle of a tree. 

It starts in winter, and we see Owl watching from his home, high in the trunk of a tree. Snow is falling and the trees are bare but with Spring on the way, the ice begins to melt and bear cubs begin to play. Blossom begins to fall, leaves are growing and squirrels scamper all over the tree. The forest is now abloom with flowers and summer is on it’s way with the tree now filled with birds singing (more animals are joining Owl in his tree). Its summer time now and bees are humming.

It starts to get cooler and apples tumble to the ground. The autumn leaves turn red and gold and nights are getting cold. It isn’t long before Winter returns when the North wind begins to blow and brings the snow. Once again Owl is left alone in his tree but he has seen it all before.

Tree has die-cuts on ever page and creates a layered effect throughout the book, allowing animals to appear on the tree as the seasons change. There is a hole showing Owl, starting with the cover and throughout the whole picture book, this makes it look like Owl is looking out from his home, a hole in the trunk. The illustrations are truly lovely within the book, and the pages are filled with lots of activity for children to explore. There is so much to discover in the backgrounds and in the trees and the beautiful illustrations work really well with the lyrical rhyming text.

This book is recommended for ages 3-5 and would make a lovely gift for any child. It would also make a great first introduction in learning about the seasons and how they may affect nature and the trees around us. This peek-through picture book will be available from the 10th September, available in all good bookshops or online here.