The Old Tree: An Environmental Fable by Ruth Brown, Ruth Brown (Illustrator)

Product Details

Synopsis

Cross-species cooperation helps to save a leafy home in an endearing, pastoral tale that features a final pop-up surprise.

Deep in the forest one morning, Pigeon Post is going about her usual business when she notices a huge X on the trunk of the old tree. All the tree’s residents have a different theory about whom is to blame, until Captain Crow solves the mystery — but can they stop their quarreling before it’s too late? Ruth Brown’s delightful tale of cooperation and conservation, complemented by her luminous illustrations, is sure to engage readers from the start of the story to the wonderful pop-up tree on the final spread.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2 While delivering mail to the many creatures living in an enormous old tree, the pigeon mail carrier notices something strange: a big white X painted on the trunk. She starts asking the animals about it, and none of them knows what it means or where it came from. Finally, she gets to Captain Crow, who realizes that the X means that their precious home is in danger. Can the animals work together to find a way to stop the ax-wielding woodsmen? This well-written story is quite long by picture-book standards, but the suspense, combined with the charming details of the animals' personalities, will keep even younger listeners interested. The beautiful acrylic-and-watercolor paintings, all spreads, show a bucolic world in which the natural order is all too fragile compared with destructive human activity. A single, spectacular pop-up on the last spread may not last long, but it's not essential to an appreciation of the book as a whole.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Biography

Ruth Brown is the author-illustrator of many beloved books for children. This is her first book with Candlewick Press. She lives in England.