Up in the Leaves: The True Story of the Central Park Treehouses
by Shira Boss (Author) Jamey Christoph (Illustrator)
"Bob lived in the big city. The city was very crowded." A true story about Bob Redman, a New York City boy who built a series of intricate treehouses hidden in Central Park.
This charming picture book tells the true story of Bob Redman, a child growing up in New York City. Tired of the noise, the people, and the rushing around, Bob took shelter in the natural beauty of Central Park--where he covertly built a series of amazing treehouses, starting with a simple platform and growing more and more elaborate over time. He played cat-and-mouse with the park workers, who kept tearing down his houses, until he was finally caught. But his story ends with a happy surprise . . .
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Publishers Weekly
From age 13 to 21, Bob Redman (Boss's husband) escaped the city's chaos by building treehouses from salvaged materials in Central Park: "Every day after school, Bob's treehouse was waiting. He hugged the tree's trunk and scampered straight up. The city--roar, clang, bang--fell away." Having his first treehouse dismantled doesn't deter Redman, who simply builds another in its place. Christoph's matte spreads show Central Park and its surrounding cityscape throughout the seasons. When park authorities arrive one morning, readers may anticipate that Bob is in trouble. Boss, however, delivers a gentle surprise: Redman is hired to work as an arborist in the park--so long as he agrees to stop building treehouses. There's no don't-try-this-at-home message; the conclusion delivers a heartening suggestion that, when someone breaks the rules in the spirit of ingenuity and imagination, the circumstances call for an equally innovative form of intervention. Ages 5-8. Author's agency: Dunow, Carlson, and Lerner. (Mar.)
Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.School Library Journal
As a child, Bob Redman preferred nature to the densely crowded New York City streets. He found a secret spot in the branches of Central Park, where "each tree has its own world, every limb an adventure." Gathering wood and rope from dumpsters, he built a tree house in the park—a place where he could go to escape the "roar, clang, bang" of down below. One day, his hideaway mysteriously disappeared. Redman made another. Then it happened again. This game continued over time until Redman, now an adult in the narrative, built the biggest tree house of all. Park employees caught him in the act and offered him a job tending to the trees—so long as he agreed to stop building. The epilogue contains a short biography and photograph of the real Bob Redman. Christoph's digitally rendered illustrations mimic watercolor, offering beautiful hues and visible, delicate brush strokes. Leafy endpapers make the reading experience akin to climbing up the trees and sitting alongside Redman. Onomatopoeic phrases like "tap, tap, tap" and "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" pepper the text with read-aloud potential but the story feels slightly oversimplified. In favor of its whimsical tone, the text evades the fact that Redman is rewarded with a job for his rule breaking. Readers may have lingering questions about why the tree houses were continuously taken down. VERDICT An additional purchase that's sure to inspire young arborists.—Alec Chunn, Eugene Public Library, OR
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
"Christoph's digitally rendered illustrations mimic watercolor, offering beautiful hues and visible, delicate brush strokes. . . . sure to inspire young arborists." —School Library Journal
JNF007000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | General
JNF037020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Environmental Conservation & Protection
City and town life
Tree houses
Central Park (New York, N.Y.)
Biographical fiction
