The Tree in Me

by Corinna Luyken (Author)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

A stunning and sensitive portrait of the strength within each of us and the nourishment we receive from the natural world, by the New York Times bestselling creator of the acclaimed My Heart and The Book of Mistakes

Through poetic text and exquisite illustrations of children reveling in nature, this picture book explores the various ways we as human beings are strong, creative, and connected to others. Each of us is like a tree, with roots and fruit, and an enduring link to everything else in nature. "The tree in me is strong. It bends in the wind, and has roots that go deep . . . to where other roots reach up toward their own trunk-branch-crown and sky."  

As Corinna Luyken did in her award-winning My Heart, she again provides an invigorating conversation-starter that contains a world of truths--about self-esteem, community, and living a meaningful life.

Awards and Accolades for My Heart:

  • New York Times Best Seller
  • PNBA Book Award Winner
  • Indie Next List Pick (Top 10)
  • Nerdies Best Picture Books of the Year
  • Book Page Best of the Year
  • Brain Pickings Best Books of the Year

* "This must-buy for librarians and teachers has myriad educational uses; it begs to be read aloud, and it is a masterful blending of text and illustration." --School Library Journal, starred review

* "Soothing, simple phrasing and masterful printmaking harness metaphors to make a heart's complexity accessible to children . . . Sensitive, stunning words and pictures speak directly to young hearts". --Kirkus, starred review

Awards and Accolades for Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse:

  • Indie Next List Pick
  • Book Page Best of the Year

Awards and Accolades for The Book of Mistakes:

  • New York Public Library Best Books of the Yea
  • rNPR Best of the Year
  • PNBA Book Award Winner
  • Nerdies Best Picture Books of the Year
  • Boston Globe Best of the Year

* "This will lead kids to see their own so-called mistakes in a new, more positive light." --Booklist, starred review

* "The idea of setbacks being opportunities in disguise is no stranger to picture book pages, but rarely has it been illuminated with such style, imagination, and compassion." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

Select format:
Hardcover
$18.99

Publishers Weekly

Luyken imagines that in every human, there grows a tree: "The tree in me/ is seed and blossom/ bark and stump." An inclusive group of kids romps through the pages as she elaborates in lyrical verse. One child climbs the lowest branch of a tree; two more perch in its branches as another, below, reaches for an apple. Humans contain shade, sun, and even delicious flavors, the text posits, "part apple,/ part orange-pear-almond-plum,/ part yummm!" In the spreads, a vibrant rose pink, the gold of light, and a shadowy black predominate, focusing on passion and inner truth rather than examining trees themselves. Layers of scumbled paint suggest a reality that can't be entirely seen or grasped, but movement and energy pour through the spreads as the children play, run, and embrace the very air in this celebration of the way the force of nature courses through every living being. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Layers of scumbled paint suggest a reality that can't be entirely seen or grasped, but movement and energy pour through the spreads as the children play, run, and embrace the very air in this celebration of the way the force of nature courses through every living being. —Publishers Weekly
Corinna Luyken
Corinna Luyken makes art in the Pacific Northwest, where she is inspired by small things (like hearts, tree, and mistakes); and by big things (like love, nature, and the web of relationship that connects us all). She is the author/illustrator of two previous picture books, My Heart (a New York Times Best Seller) and The Book of Mistakes, and the illustrator of Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse and Nothing in Common.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780593112595
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Rocky Pond Books
Publication date
March 16, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
Library of Congress categories
Nature
Conduct of life
Self-esteem
Trees

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