The Tin Forest [Hardcover]

Helen Ward (Author), Wayne Anderson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

In the middle of a windswept wasteland full of discarded scrap metal lives a sad and lonely old man. In spite of his gloomy surroundings, he dreams every night of a lively forest full of trees, birds, and animals. When he finds a broken light fixture that looks like a flower, his imagination is sparked. He begins to build a tin forest, branch by branch, creature by creature. In time, real birds arrive, bearing seeds, and soon the artificial forest is taken over by living vines and animals until it looks just like the forest of the old man's dreams.

The rich, detailed illustrations and the lyrical text carry an important, empowering message for children and adults alike: No matter where you live or what your circumstances are, where there is imagination, there is hope.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Exquisitely detailed illustrations endow this touching tale with pathos and grace. Living alone in the midst of environmental devastation, an old man refuses to resign himself to the junkyard views that surround him. "Every day he tried to clear away the garbage, sifting and sorting, burning and burying. And every night the old man dreamed." With his bald pate, white whiskers, spectacles and tattered work clothes, the old man is a grandfatherly figure whose human warmth (represented by the tinge of color on his flesh and clothes) puts him in stark contrast to the bleak world he inhabits. Anderson's portrayal of the desolate landscape, for all its metallic grayness, possesses a jarring, unexpected beauty, which grows under the diligent care of the story's hero. Tin flowers leaves bolted on stems with screws begin to glow under the old man's attention, while tin toucans, salamanders and tigers wait expectantly for the warmth to spread to them. This fantasy conveys a message all the more inspiring for its understatement: one individual who dares to dream can make a world of difference. Ages 6-10.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-A tale with a pointed ecological message. Ward begins pessimistically with the words, "There was once a wide, windswept place, near nowhere and close to forgotten, that was filled with all the things that no one wanted." In the midst of this forlorn environment, there lives an old man who remembers better times and dreams of beautiful forests teeming with exotic birds and wildlife. Even though he tries to clear away the trash, his world remains essentially the same. One day, he plants a light bulb that takes root and grows and grows until it creates a forest made of tin and garbage. Two birds drop seeds on the dry ground; they sprout and bloom, bringing insects and small creatures to the land. The last page reiterates the first with this change: "There was once a forest, near nowhere and close to forgotten, that was filled with all the things that everyone wanted." Anderson's sinister illustrations emphasize the gray coldness of the tin forest. Colors are added as the new one comes to life. The pictures are reminiscent of those in early German folktales, depicting the forest as dark and deadly. With true eloquence, Ward has created a morality tale of environmental devastation. A good choice for Earth Day collections.

Barbara Buckley, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (September 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525467874
• ISBN-13: 978-0525467878
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 10 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #946,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let your dreams run wild!, May 30, 2002

By 

Judith E. Pavluvcik (Dreaming of the beach in Hawaii, but living in the reality of the desert in Arizona!!) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tin Forest (Hardcover)

The Tin Forest is recommended for readers from 4-8, but this book, to me, is a wonderful book for all ages. The story teaches the lesson of hanging onto one's dream, of not letting it go, of nourishing it, tending to it, until it indeed sprouts leaves and blossoms into a life of its own. The old man constantly held onto his dream, and never gave up what he wanted to achieve. He had hope and that hope spurred him on. The forest he constantly dreamed of became a reality.

He lived in forgotten place, where he was surrounded by trash and objects that others once wanted, but no longer did. He tirelessly cleared away the trash, organized it, and dreamed at night of his forest with wild animals and lush flowers. One day, the idea came to him of making his own forest, if one was not going to spout up amidst all of the garbage. He made a forest of "things", a forest of tin, fashioned only after his own imagination and the books he devoured each night. He made trees, and flowers, and plants and the wild creatures that would inhabit his forest. Then one day, a visitor arrived in the form of a colorful bird, eating the crumbs the old man gave him, and singing his thanks back to the man. Sadly, the bird left the next morning, which left the old man very lonely.

Yet, the next day, the old man awoke to the melody of his visitor and his mate. They brought seeds to plant and decided to make their home here, in the tin forest. Soon, green shoots sprouted, flowers bloomed and various wild animals came to the forest to make their home. . . . "And in the house lived an old man who never stopped dreaming."

This book is just precious and the illustrations are just as wonderful and precious. I absolutely LOVED this book! A wonderful tale of teaching children that nothing is beyond their grasp.

"There was once a wide, windswept place . . . . but where there is a dream, hope can grow."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, spare, and haunting, July 15, 2002

By 

Murie Seto (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tin Forest (Hardcover)

I was drawn into this book the first time by the beautifully intricate illustrations. It has a dark, lonely feel to it, and reminds me somewhat of Maurice Sendak's work (especially the work of Dear Mili). On a second read, I enjoyed how the text is spare and achingly poetic. It's just a gorgeous, gorgeous book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars teacher review, April 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tin Forest (Hardcover)

I used this book in a 3rd grade class as the last lesson in a rainforest unit and it worked wonderfully well. After reading the story, the students loved doing a picture walk of the beautiful illustrations and noticed many interesting things about them not obvious from the first perusal.