Sparrow and the Trees, The

by Sharon Chriscoe, Susan Detwiler

Overview

The Sparrow family is ready for their trip south for the winter, but Papa’s wing is hurt and he cannot make the trip. He asks the trees for help. One by one, the mighty, leafy trees of the forest say no! Will any of the trees help Papa Sparrow? What will happen to the selfish trees that turned him away? Discover why some trees lose their leaves in winter in this retelling of a Cherokee pourquoi tale. This fictional story includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 32-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. The Sparrow and the Trees is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The enhanced ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628556483
Publisher:	Arbordale Publishing
Publication date:	09/10/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 9 Years

About the Author

Sharon Chriscoe discovered her passion for writing at the age of 32, after watching a litter of stray kittens play on her porch. She is a graduate of The Institute of Children's Literature and a member of Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. In addition to The Sparrow and The Trees, Sharon has written The Orchard Grew All Around, Giraffes: World's Tallest Animals, Let's Hibernate, Waterfalls and Geometry, and Ten Different Habitats, Ten Different Families. Sharon lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three grown children. Visit her website: https://sharonchriscoe.wordpress.com/

Susan Detwiler is the illustrator of several books for children including the award-winning books On the Move (NSTA-CBC Outstanding Trade Book); Big Cat, Little Kitty (Mom's Choice Awards Gold); Pandas' Earthquake Escape (Mom's Choice Awards Gold); and One Wolf Howls (Silver Nautilus Book Award) for Arbordale. She is the author/illustrator of Fine Life For A Country Mouse. Susan is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. Books have always been a source of joy in her life, and as a child she particularly loved books with beautiful illustrations. Susan was educated at the Maryland Institute College of Art and lives with her artist husband in Baltimore. Visit her website: http://www.susandetwiler.com/

Editorial Reviews

"There is a great deal of text on each page, which matches the oral storytelling tradition. Each tree is personified with a face that is visible in each illustration, and vibrant colors help to capture both the natural scene and also the whimsical quality of the story. - Children's Literature

From the Publisher

2015-06-23
Heartlessness leads to leaflessness for trees that refuse to shelter an injured sparrow for the winter. Of (possibly, according to the source note) Cherokee origin, the tale opens with Papa Sparrow, one wing injured, sending his family south and then seeking shelter from, respectively, Maple, Oak, and Willow. All three rudely reject him, but Pine, Spruce, and Juniper are more welcoming. That night, at the behest of irritated King Forest, Winter Wind denudes the uncharitable trio—who have continued to lose their leaves in wintertime ever since. Chriscoe's retelling flows on a gentle rhythm fueled by recurring phrases, but some passages have an artificial ring: "And how do I know you won't damage my lovely, gorgeous leaves?" Willow complains. "You may not stay for the winter in my gentle, hanging foliage." Moreover, though the sparrow and closer views of leaves and twigs are realistically drawn, the personified trees in Detwiler's illustrations sport cartoonish Green Man-style faces with exaggerated grimaces or grins. Pages of nature facts and study questions follow the tale. Alexis York Lumbard's Pine and the Winter Sparrow, illustrated by Beatriz Vidal (2015), presents a better written and more appealingly illustrated version of the same story. Unexceptional despite the addenda and likely to be overshadowed. (bibliography) (Picture book/folk tale. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews