Under My Tree by Muriel Tallandier
A modern take on Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree that celebrates the friendship between a curious child and her favorite tree.
When Susanne leaves her city home to visit her grandmother, she finds a very special tree of her own in the forest. Each time she returns to the tree, she observes something unique about it—from the sheltering protection of its branches to the scratchy surface of its bark.
This is a wonderful introduction to trees for young children that gently cultivates an appreciation for nature. Interwoven in the fiction text are unique facts about trees and simple activities that encourage readers to touch, smell, and observe the world that is all around them. Printed on FSC-certified paper with vegetable-based inks.
By the time I finished reading this book to my five year old, I knew that this was one that we need to buy for our own personal library. A little girl so in love with her tree, that she looks forward to seeing it every year when she visits her grandmother. I love this depiction of a child’s relationship with nature! I loved the science sprinkled throughout, the thought provoking questions for children, the prompts to use their senses when thinking about the tree. I loved that the little girl loved her tree so much she shared it with her friends and her family. We are such a nature loving family, that this was a wonderful story to share with my son, to encourage his own relationship with our natural world, and engage his curiosity and senses. I loved this book, but even better, so did my five year old.
This book is compared to Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, which is a wonderful book, although a sad one. I think this book has a different tone, one that respects the tree, which I enjoy much more.
This was just a lovely story with beautiful illustrations, and one I plan to buy for my son’s shelves, to be read again and again.