A Tree is a Home

This lovely book follows a tall oak tree through the seasons. The tree, which stands near a large house, is home to six different animals: a raccoon, an opossum, a gray squirrel, a chipmunk, an acorn weevil and a blue jay. Over the course of a year, the animals use their tree house as a place to store food in preparation for the winter, to shelter from the cold weather, to have their young and to teach their young how to fend for themselves as they get older. The human activity in the house mirrors what is happening in the tree house, but this part of the story is not told in words. Details in the illustrations of the house fulfil that role as they echo what is taking place in the tree home. In autumn, the human family moves in, and, during the winter, they mostly stay indoors, but spring brings warmth, new life and more outdoor activity. There is a new baby in the household and a recently planted vegetable garden. Summer is a time for learning new skills: just as the animal parents teach their young how to hunt for food or to look out for danger, the human parents teach their child how to ride a bicycle. A double-page spread features the life cycle of an oak tree while several pages depict the life cycles of the six animals featured in the book. Finally, a glossary introduces some new vocabulary, a few examples of which are drey (a squirrel’s nest), crop (a pouch in a bird’s throat that stores food) and catkin (the male flower of an oak tree).

Though this book is a work of nonfiction and will be of use in a science unit on life cycles and seasons, Hickman’s text reads more like a story, one beautifully told, and it evokes a soft, quiet mood. Yamamoto’s delightful illustrations add to the story’s charm and provide additional details which readers will find on subsequent readings.

A Tree is a Home is an engaging and most enjoyable read!