From the Publisher
In dramatic prose, Behold The Trees describes the trees that grew long ago in the land now called Israel. But that is only the beginning of the story. Over the centuries, the land was fought over, conquered, and reconquered. Built up and burnt down. Exploited and neglected. Until no trees would grow and the land became barren. And then the people began to plant again.
Booklist
A strong, exquisite, and magical choice.
Children's Literature
A combination of lush illustrations and melodious prose tell the story of a land called Canaan, which bloomed with wild trees. During the time of the Israelite kings, cities and towns were built but "no new trees were planted." Then six hundred years of war followed. Fortresses were built out of the trees. Forests were set on fire so that enemy troops would have nowhere to hide. Much later, the Turks ruled the land and used trees to build roads and bridges. The remaining trees were destroyed by black goats who chewed up the roots. Without the protection of trees, the land became a desert. Animals and birds disappeared. Then a little more than fifty years ago, people came back to the land and made the desert bloom by planting millions of trees. This splendid book celebrates an environmental miracle that people of all faiths can admire. Leonid Gore's illustrations are stunning. The trees are drawn with human features. Branches sprout from hands tattooed with concentration camp numbers. Tree trunks reveal a mother cuddling a baby and a scholar holding a scroll. Readers will be mesmerized by these pictures within pictures, dramatizing an impressive story of destruction and renewal. 2000, Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, $16.95. Ages 8 to 12. Reviewer: Jackie Hechtkopf
School Library Journal
Gr 3-5-Telling the history of Israel through the fate of its trees must have seemed a poetic approach-and the illustrations are suitably graceful. Everyone, from Hebrews to Romans to Christians to Turks, cuts trees down. Only in the last 50 years have millions been replanted. And there you have the story. Hugely uneven steps mark historical periods: 3000 years or 1000 are passed over in a page, while another page covers four years. The list of native species is euphonious, but will readers know an acacia from a terebinth? Because of an absence of precise illustration, one tree looks much like another. Gore's acrylics blend realism and stylization, but don't teach botany. There are a few line drawings evoking historic sources (e.g., the Arch of Titus), but the main appeal is simply lyrical, and that might not be enough incentive to plant this book on your shelves.-Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
"Oak and almond, fig and olive, terebinth and palm, acacia and pomegranate, willow and tamarisk ..." In stately prose, Alexander (One More Time, Mama, 1999, etc.) chronicles the gradual destruction of the once-widespread forests of Canaan, and pays tribute to modern efforts to replant them. Gore (Lucy Dove, 1998, etc.) uses ghostly, half-seen images for semiabstract illustrations in which trunks and tree limbs blend with faces, buildings, and—reflecting the area's turbulent history—hands brandishing weapons. The book is sumptuously produced and the author mentions the Israeli Arbor Day, Tu B'Shevat, in an afterword. Outside of the acknowledgements, there is no mention of the many non-Jews who have contributed to the reforestation project over the decades, nor of the Jewish National Fund, which has organized it. Longer on inspiration than helpful information, this, like Neil Waldman's The Never-Ending Greenness (1997), may stimulate interest in young readers, but doesn't take the next step. Timeline appended. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10)
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