Customer Reviews

Winter Trees

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A young boy uses sight and touch to identify seven types of trees as he and his dog take a winter walk in the woods. Carole Gerber's simple, eloquent verse and Leslie Evans' clean, stylist illustrations pull readers into the wintry setting. "Crunch! We walk through fresh new snow/that sparkles on the frozen ground./It's peaceful here among the trees - /our footsteps make the only sound."

Later verses and pictures describe the general appearance of the bare trees "Trees that once had leaves are bare./They're dressed instead in lacy white", followed by a description and illustration of the shapes of each type of tree and the appearance of its bark and buds. "Tall yellow poplar's furrowed bark/ surrounds a trunk that's straight and neat./Its reddish twigs hold puffy buds - /for deer, a tasty winter tree." The illustration shows the boy and dog peeking around the trunk of one poplar as a deer nibbles on the buds of another.

Before leaving the woods, the boy builds a snowman and decorates it with "small twigs and pinecones for his face/and leaves from beech trees for his hair."

This is a wonderful read-aloud for small children as well as for older, independent readers and will also be useful in elementary science classes. The story is followed by a simple, clear explanation of how to identify trees in winter by their shape, bark, and buds, along with small labeled illustrations of each tree the boy identifies on his walk.

Gerber, Carole. Winter Trees. Illustrated by Leslie Evans. Charlesbridge. 2008.

Simple rhymes describe how individual tree branches look in a winter landscape: "the egg shape of the maple tree; the taller oval of the beech... The V formation of the birch; the yellow poplar, wide and high; the spreading structure of the oak, its branches reaching toward the sky." The illustrations are created from linoleum block print, watercolor, and collage that is then digitally enhanced. "Trees that once had leaves are bare. They're dressed instead in lacy white. Snow dusts their trunks and coats their limbs with flakes that outline them with light." One quibble is that the sugar maple's bark is described as gray yet the color of the bark in the illustration appears to be brown. This simple appreciation of nature is suitable for preschoolers, and could be presented effectively in a story time.

Carole Gerber has a delightful way of writing to make the book fun but also teach. I especially like her particular style for children. I have enjoyed purchasing her books as gifts over the years. I highly recommend any of her books.

This is a lovely book that gives some clues about how to identify trees in the winter. I'm not sure that I will be able to actually identify trees based on the text and graphics in the book, but I am enjoying exploring the concept of tree i.d., using this book in conjunction with other tools. It's a nice lilting rhyme and the pictures are great. Great book overall.