Customer Reviews

The Tin Forest

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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."

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.

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.

"There was once a wide, windswept place near nowhere and close to forgotten, that was filled with all the things that no one wanted. Right in the middle was a small house, with small windows, that looked out on other people's garbage and bad weather. In the house lived an old man..." The old man had a big dream. Every night when he went to bed, he dreamed he lived in a lush, wonderful forest, full of exotic plants, flowers, and trees, wild animals, and beautiful birds. But each morning when he woke up, nothing had changed. Then one day he noticed a broken light fixture, and realized how much it looked like a flower, and an idea began to bloom. Soon all the trash, garbage, and bent metal pieces began to take shape as the old man created his own "tin forest", just the way he remembered it in his mind. And then one day, a beautiful bird landed on one of his tin branches..... Helen Ward and Wayne Anderson have authored an engaging and whimsical story, with a gentle message, that won't be lost on young readers. Ms Ward's simple, lyrical, yet eloquent text is full of imagery and magic, and beautifully complemented by Mr Anderson's evocative and detailed artwork that blooms from dull sad grays to vibrant gold and warm, joyful colors. Together word and art will send little imaginations soaring as the old man's dream becomes real. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, The Tin Forest is a masterpiece to treasure and share, and a reminder that with imagination and hope, all your dreams can come true.

The story is touching and the illustrations are haunting. The ethos of the old man, to make something out of seemingly nothing, is a wonderful trait that many would be lucky to emulate. The language is poetic and the artwork striking. I would recommend this book to be part of any school library collection for its content, language, images and message.

The Tin Forest is magical... it 's hopeful message "do your idea", as my kids put it, is immediately understandable. The illustrations are a beautiful, integral part of the story. We have been giving this book as gifts to our children's friends and I am hoping that our pre-school will use it as well. This is a book to be cherished.

I found this to be a very charming book that shares an endearing message. Told in a fairy tale like fashion, this is the story of an old man who lives in a small house in the middle of a dreary looking place "near nowhere and close to forgotten," filled with, basically, piles and piles of junk and scrap metal. However, despite his sad circumstances, the old man never seems to lose hope and we don't see him complaining about his situation as many people probably would do. Instead the man just keeps working to clean up the junk and, most importantly, he keeps dreaming. Every night he dreams of living in a vibrant forest full of life until one day he comes across a peice of garbage that gives him an idea. "The idea grew roots and sprouted" and eventually the man has built an entire forest, complete, with animals, out of the junk. Though not as beautiful as the forest in his dreams, he never loses hope. Eventually a pair of birds come to nest in the tin forest, bringing with them seeds, which eventually grow into plants, which attract other animals. Over time the tin forest is overgrown with a real forest and real animals and low, the old man has turned his dreary home into the vibrant forest of his dreams.

The illustrations are enchanting. The story begins with pictures of a dull and misty gray landscape and, throughout the book,develope into a dreamy forest of golds and greens. The beautiful artwork enforces the fairy tale like style of the story.

I read this book to my son, who is 19 months old, and with the text being short and sweet, it was able to keep his attention all the way through.However, I don't expect that he'll be able to fully appreciate the beautiful atmosphere that the illustrations create for a couple more years. (At his age he is more drawn to bright, bold colored illustrations and the greys of this book didn't quite grab his attention.)

All in all, it is a beautiful little story with a great message: No matter what your circumstances are, never let them dictate your attitude or your future. Never stop dreaming.

This charming story is so sad at first. The lonely old man alone in a gray, forsaken junkyard. But he has not lost his spark of an imagination - and what a conflagration emerges from that spark! The old man creates a world of life and color for himself, as magnificently illustrated by Wayne Anderson.

In the middle of a vast wasteland of discarded goods lives a man who dreams. He dreams of a lush forest filled with plants and animals. The man's dream inspires him to slowly create an intricate fanciful "tin forest" populated with metal plants, trees, birds, and animals of all descriptions. What happens next will both surprise and inspire. But what of this picture book's illustrations? Only words like amazing or wondrous will suffice.

The illustrations are amazingly beautiful, and the story is inspirational, as with all of Helen Ward's books. The illustrations alone are a reason to buy and read this book. Each page is absolutely gorgeous. I've never seen a more beautifully illustrated children's book.