This is the Tree (Children's Books from Around the World--Africa) [Hardcover]

Miriam Moss (Author), Adrienne Kennaway (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Series: Children's Books from Around the World--Africa

The ancient and curious baobab tree is the centre of this evocative and informative book about the wildlife of the wide African plain. Old as a volcano, the distinctive 'upside-down' tree has great cultural significance and plays a central role in the lives of numerous and varied creatures. The book traces activity around the baobab throughout a day. Miriam Moss's prose poem combines with Adrienne Kennaway's vivid and beautiful artwork to capture the magic of the wonderful and diverse wildlife of the African plain.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-This evocation of the African baobab tree works hard to be both poetic and informational and it succeeds at neither. The tree is straightforwardly described but also personified as having a "huge rounded belly," with rain causing "-dark-stained wrinkles/on knuckles and knees," and toes pointing to the moon. Each sentence begins with "This is the tree-," which gradually wears on readers, but the often-dramatic watercolor illustrations, lush with detail, reward viewers and extend the text. The book notes various uses animals and humans make of the shade, bark, blossoms, and fruit but readers are left to wonder why the elephant gores the trunk and what the tribespeople are doing with the bark they cut. The text doesn't explain, and the picture shows two men watching insects pour out from under the cut. More information is presented on a double-page spread at the end. Barbara Bash's beautiful, informative Tree of Life (Little, Brown, 1989; o.p.) is for slightly older readers. Like Lynne Cherry's The Great Kapok Tree (Harcourt, l990) and Brenda Guiberson's Cactus Hotel (Holt, l991), Moss's title does show how one species supports an ecosystem of interrelated animals and is an important part of the larger terrain.-Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"What a lovely book! Both the language and the illustrations are exceptional. Since the baobab tree is basically unfamiliar to the most of us, the snippets of factual information are fascinating." --- Children's Book Review Service

"This book is perfect for use by teachers or homeschoolers who are studying the habitat of the African savannah or about the animals of Africa." --- The Thinking Mother

"Lush illustrations and lyrical prose convey the respect that this tree deserves." --- Green Teacher --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Kane/Miller Book Publishers (November 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916291987
• ISBN-13: 978-0916291983
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,205,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good read-aloud for study of African Savannah, May 7, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: This Is the Tree (Paperback)

This children's non-fiction picture book is an introduction to learning about the unique Baobab Tree which grows in the African savannah. This book is perfect for use by teachers or homeschoolers who are studying the habitat of the African savannah or about the animals of Africa.

The text rhymes and the book has a low word count, making it suitable to read to not only elementary school aged children but to preschoolers and even toddlers. The reader could breeze through reading the text and not do much more with the book than that if they wanted. However, that would be a shame because the book is filled with lots of illustrations of the creatures that live in and around the Baobab tree. Although the creatures are not discussed in detail and most are not even named, they provide a lot to look at and to stir curiosity. The parent or teacher could use this book as a jumping off point to learn about some of the creatures that are pictured in the book.

The pages are so crammed with illustrations of the creatures that to truly look at each thing on the page could take a good amount of time. The illustrations are hand dawn, very colorful and are detailed.

I learned a lot about the Baobab tree, which is sometimes called the Upside-Down Tree, which I did not know. The tree has many uses, for its leaves, flowers, fruit, and is used for food and for shelter, and even the bark has special uses! Many animals, insects, other critters and humans all use the tree as a habitat for living in.

Children will be amazed to learn about this giant tree which grows to 10 meters in diameter and can live for 2000 years!

A double page spread at the back of the book provides about a paragraph of non-fiction facts and information on the different parts of the tree and it's use by humans and creatures of all kinds. I found this section helpful.

My only complaint is that the illustrations contain so many creatures which are not mentioned in the book. I wish we could know more about them by reading just this one book. The book aroused our curiosity of these things, such as to know their names and a little about them. I guess at this point we will have to find another source of information to learn more. Perhaps it would have been nice to have a key code at the back of the book with little numbers next to each creature and a key to tell us what the name of it is, so we could read more about a creature that we were interested in.

As a homeschooling mother I plan to use this book while teaching my children about Africa. I read this to my children `just for fun' and they enjoyed it.

This would be a great book for teachers to use in the classroom.

Disclosure Statement: I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of writing a book review. I did not get paid to write this review.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for study of biomes., August 17, 2006

By 

Camille "at the BookMoot!" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: This Is the Oasis (Hardcover)

The end papers of this book set the tone with edge to edge ripples of sand. Life in the Sahara dessert is described in lovely language:

This is the place where dust evils, like whirlwinds,
dance spirals of sand dust
high into the air.


The art work is servicable and illustrates the information.
A glossary of terms at the end of the book explains concepts such as the Tuareg, Sandstorms, trading salt and more.

Perfect book for study of biomes.

4.0 out of 5 stars This is the Oasis by Miriam Moss, September 14, 2005

By 

Heidi Anne Heiner (SurLaLune Fairy Tales.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: This Is the Oasis (Hardcover)

"This is the Oasis" follows in the vein of Miriam Moss's previous book, "This is the Tree," about an African baobab tree. The book begins by looking at an oasis from a distance and detailing some common desert animals and phenomena as we move closer to the oasis itself. Once inside the oasis, author and illustrator show the inhabitants of the oasis, from fauna to humans. Every two page spread contains two concepts detailed in two stanzas and picked up in the illustrations. Each stanza begins with the phrase "This is the place..." which becomes wearisome, especially during a read aloud. The illustrations are colorful and appealing, making up for the text's deficiencies. The book serves well as a basic introduction to oasis living, but might inspire more questions than it answers. A short glossary at the end of the book expounds upon common desert names and terms, but still doesn't compensate for the slight, strained text of the bulk of the book.