The Wisdom of Trees: How Trees Work Together to Form a Natural Kingdom

by Lita Judge

Overview

With lush illustrations, poems, and accessible scientific information, The Wisdom of Trees by Lita Judge is a fascinating exploration of the hidden communities trees create to strengthen themselves and others.

We clean the air and seed the clouds, we drench the thirsty land with rain. We are like wizards.

The story of a tree is a story of community, communication, and cooperation. Although trees may seem like silent, independent organisms, they form a network buzzing with life: they talk, share food, raise their young, and offer protection. Trees thrive on diversity, learn from their ancestors, and give back to their communities. Trees not only sustain life on our planet—they can also teach us important lessons about patience, survival, and teamwork.

A New York Public Library Best Book of 2021

A New York Public Library Top Ten Book for Kids

Green Earth Book Award Longlist

An ALA SustainRT Top 10 Sustainability-Themed Children’s Books 2022

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250237071
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD1090L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 12 Years

About the Author

Lita Judge is the author and illustrator of several award-winning picture books for young readers, including How Big Were Dinosaurs?, Bird Talk, Born in the Wild, Flight School, and Red Sled. After a summer spent reading the handwritten journals of Mary Shelley, Lita embarked on a five year journey to tell the story of this courageous teenager in Mary’s Monster. She lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire, with her husband, two cats and a parrot.

Editorial Reviews

Wonderful illustrations and poetry highlight cutting-edge scientific information about how trees communicate and share information. Don’t leave this one behind.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“In poetry, prose, and art, examples from around the world teach both basic botany and current, even cutting-edge, research about trees.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“An accessible, rousing resource.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Judge thoroughly explains the many ways in which trees and the organisms that live in, under, and near them form complex and interdependent ecosystems. She emphasizes cooperation, rather than competition, to highlight the ways they help other species and trees in their immediate areas." —Horn Book

Praise for Homes in the Wild:

“A must for nonfiction collections everywhere.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“An attractive, visually engaging introduction to animal homes.” —Booklist

“Solid, appealing nonfiction for the younger set.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Advanced young readers will appreciate the combination of adorable animals and sophisticated text, while others will enjoy having the details read aloud as they look at endearing kits and pups.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Praise for Born in the Wild:

“Warmly friendly and inviting for a wide range of ages.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“This charming picture book presents more than 20 baby animals . . . so tenderly that readers may forget that these are wild creatures.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“An intimate study of the lives of animal babies and their parents.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A visually captivating volume on animal families.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

★ 2020-12-15
In poetry, prose, and art, examples from around the world teach both basic botany and current, even cutting-edge, research about trees.

Each double-page spread includes detailed watercolor art, a short, titled poem, and prose paragraphs that extend each poem’s meaning. As the text explains: “The poems in this book reveal what trees might say if they did use words.” The poems are written in an accessible free verse with a pleasing rhythm and near rhymes, and they include sly homage to both Shakespearean verse and more modern memes. Equally accessible prose introduces readers to the humorously—but appropriately—designated Wood Wide Web, which allows trees long-distance, intra-tree communication through mycorrhizal fungi at their roots. That knowledge, and the tale of savvy, giraffe-battling acacias, will be familiar to readers of Peter Wohlleben’s Can You Hear the Trees Talking? (2019). This text goes further by stressing cooperation rather than competition among different tree species and, indeed, by declaring that trees are the entire planet’s “best defense against climate change.” There are excellent explanations of standard topics such as photosynthesis along with revelations about how many insect species were found on one tree in Costa Rica, why most of Malaysia’s tualang trees are protected (home to Asian rock bees, a type of honeybee), and the urgent necessity of reforestation. Final pages offer further information, organized by the poem titles. With the exception of some awkwardly depicted animals, the illustrations complement the text’s quality of reverence. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 38.9% of actual size.)

Recommended reading, from mycorrhizal fungi to canopy. (glossary, sources, websites) (Informational picture book/poetry. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews