Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees [Hardcover]

Jim Arnosky (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 1992

Crinkleroot invites youngsters to chart the growth of trees, examining their roots, leaves, stems, and seeds, discussing identification and explaining why all trees have individual shapes and stories.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- Wise old Crinkleroot is back! He invites young readers to join him on a walk through the woods, where the friendly woodsman describes the differences between hardwoods and conifers. His explanations are accompanied by warm, detailed watercolor sketches depicting many different kinds of leaves. Crinkleroot also gives examples of the need for a rich variety of trees to provide food and shelter for wildlife, pointing out that even dead trees play an important role in forest ecology. How seedlings and saplings grow and factors affecting their development are also discussed. The wonderful illustrations and text work together to entice youngsters to get to know and appreciate the world around them. David Burnie's Tree (Knopf, 1988) contains excellent full-color photos and brief text, but is meant for slightly older readers. An engaging and most informative nature walk. --Barbara B. Murphy, Shaler Area School District Libraries, Pittsburgh
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

The appealing old woodland character introduced in I Was Born in a Tree and Raised by Bees (1977) explains the parts of a tree, uses leaves, seeds, and fall colors to differentiate among species, and then describes the differences between hardwood and softwood forests, emphasizing the advantages of a mixed woods to the many creatures who live in it. A page showing how trees get their shapes, each unique, is of special interest. An attractive introduction, with illustrations that convey information as lucidly as the brief but concise and well-organized text. (Nonfiction. 5-10) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (March 31, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0027058557
• ISBN-13: 978-0027058550
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #956,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a GREAT INTRODUCTION to trees!, May 10, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees (Hardcover)

The Crinkleroot series is a favorite at our house. We purchased the Guide to Walking in Wild Places a few years ago and still refer to it before taking family hikes with our young boys. We've enjoyed reading any Crinkleroot book we've ever gotten our hands on. I understand what an earlier reviewer says about the information being basic, but I disagree with the "being dumbed-down" description. I honestly feel that the goal of this series is to be a FIRST look into different nature arenas for kids... and for this, I find Crinkleroot books to be MORE thorough than many. These books are SOLID teasers to get kids started at looking at some details on nature-related topics... then we can expand on that information through leading questions with our kids, and they can turn to more detailed photo guides as longer term references later on, too.

We just got this Guide to Knowing the Trees out of the library before beginning a leaf collection and identification project on our own. Upon first reading, it got my 5 1/2 year old self-described "science guy" very excited about trees... looking out his window and determining what were evergreens and broad leaf (even though the terms weren't even all that new to him), etc. Crinkleroot is always a fun character... especially when kids are able to identify him in more than one book. The character brings a story to the information, and we've found that to make chatter more immediate after reading. I found this book to be a VERY GOOD springboard for further tree discussion! I would recommend it as much as the other Crinkleroot books we've enjoyed!

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully-illustrated, presents basic facts about trees in a fun way, December 29, 2011

By 

Z Hayes (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees (Hardcover)

The Crinkleroot series is meant for young children, ages 3-8. My almost seven-year-old has always been curious about nature, and we found the Crinkleroot series by Jim Arnosky (one of our favorite nature authors) to be a fun way to help her understand her environment.

In this primer about trees, readers are introduced to Crinkleroot, an old man with a flowing white beard who claims he was born in a tree, and lives in the forest. Through a series of color illustrations (beautifully done, I might add), Crinkleroot teaches young readers about the parts of a tree, the various types of trees (those who shed their leaves in autumn and those that remain evergreen), and goes on to make distinctions between deciduous/hardwood trees and evergreen/softwood trees.

The hand-drawn illustrations may seem basic but for a young child, the visual appeal is high, and accompanied by a nature walk, facilitates a young child's discovery of nature. We took a walk in our park this fall and my daughter was able to pick some of the leaves out and identify them based on the information in this book. The book also covers the importance of trees to nature and the wildlife around it, as well as a brief write-up about how a tree acquires its shape, and how to tell a tree's age.

This is a wonderful primer on trees for the curious young mind, and I recommend the other titles in the Crinkleroot series.

3 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars very dumbed-down information; good for ages 2-4 only, June 25, 2003

By 

christinemm - The Thinking Mother (Houston Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees (Hardcover)

A very basic introduction to trees. Definitions are given to easy (common) terms such as saplings, seedlings, limbs, and the trunk. Leaves of 27 different trees are identified. The book is way too oversimplified to be very useful; for example, it states things live in three zones in a forest, the ground, the middle branches, and the upper branches, but it does not give examples of what lives in these zones.

I was very disappointed in the content of this book. It is way too dumbed-down. Perhaps it would be useful for the very young reader (2 years old through 4) who has no knowledge of trees at all. I felt that other than knowing (all of) the different leaf identifications, my five year-old already knows this information based on casual conversation and his own observation!

The illustrations are hand drawn and charming, and the main character is an elderly man named Crinkleroot who gives a mysterious and weird explanation that he was born in a tree.