Trees are beautiful. They fill up the sky. If you have a tree, you can climb up its trunk, roll in its leaves, or hang a swing from one of its limbs. Cows and babies can nap in the shade of a tree. Birds can make nests in the branches. A tree is good to have around. A tree is nice.
Anonymous
Posted April 21, 2007
Caldecott Book Title: A Tree is Nice Reading Level: Second Grade Genre: Fiction About the Author: Janice May Udry was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, a city famous for its¿ elm trees. In 1950, she graduated from Northwestern University, and assisted in a Chicago nursery school for a year. She now lives in California. Book Review: A Tree is Nice is a story about trees and nature and the importance and value they have in our lives. It gives many facts about trees and helps us to appreciate them. ¿Trees make the woods.¿ ¿They make everything beautiful.¿ This book encourages readers to plant trees. ¿A tree is nice to plant.¿ It also gives us an almost endless list of possible uses for trees. This book is simple and easy to understand and gives children a wonderful insight on the value of trees. It is an enjoyable book and I would recommend it for learning and reading enjoyment. Bibliographic Information: Udry, Janice May. A Tree is Nice. New York: Harper & Row, 1956.
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Posted April 11, 2001
The best early readers are those that focus on a subject that a child can easily understand, use simple words, and have illustrations that perfectly capture the words. A Tree Is Nice easily passes those tests. The book is a Caldecott medal winner for its illustrations. The book explores all of the many benefits that trees bring us. They 'fill up the sky,' and 'make everything beautiful.' 'Even if you have just one tree, it is nice too.' The book goes on to describe the beauty of leaves, the fun of playing in them, and even bonfires with them in the fall when they are at their most beautiful. You can climb the tree, lean things up against the tree, enjoy the shade, be protected from winds, use the sticks for drawing in the sand, and hang swings and flower baskets in the branches. Trees make perfect backgrounds for picnics, too. My favorite part of the book is the section about planting a tree. Ms. Udry points out that you can put a tree in, and watch it grow. Then you can tell others that you planted it, and they will want to plant one, too. I remember planting some trees as a cub scout, and revisiting them as a middle-aged man and taking great delight in seeing them become a large, leafy oasis in what had been a barren field. The illustrations are terrific. The book's designer has created a vertically elongated page shape that accentuates the graceful trunks of trees. Half of the illustrations are in color (using watercolors with inked outlines and details) and half in black-and-white. The choices for full color are good ones (fall leaves, being next to a house, and with a picnic). The pen and ink ones with grey washes are very poetic in their simplicity. The design also minimizes the words, which appear almost like a memorial plaque at the base of a tree in an arboretum. The style is very reminiscent of the best simple drawings of the fifties, and provide a nostalgic feeling. In addition to reading this book to your child, and having your chld read this book to you, you each must plant a tree! Where else does nature provide well for us, where you can help nature along a little? Perhaps you should consider a bird feeder or bird bath (if you have a yard). Enjoy the natural sculpture and art all around you! Donald Mitchell, co-author of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The 2,000 Percent Solution
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Posted April 13, 2009
I bought this for my four year old who loves to garden. We read it at least twice a week. I love the illustrations. The language is simple enough for him to understand and relate to. The only thing he hard time with was the part were they burn leaves, "mommy it's not safe to start fires!" Good point! Otherwise, great book.
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Posted April 23, 2007
In 'A Tree Is Nice' by Janice May Udry, I thought the book did a great job of showing how nice nature was. The author did a great job of showing how nature is important and pointed out things that are often overlooked. This book was very educational when doing season in a classroom. This book came in handy during a lot of my lesson plans and I loved using it. I love in the book how some of the illustrations are done in black and white and some are done in color. The illustrator did an amazing job of showing the story line.
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Posted April 23, 2007
Janice May Udry a graduate from Northwest University in 1956 did an amazing job on her 1956 Caldecott Medal book 'A Tree Is Nice.' The illustrations were done by Marc Simont. The book does an amazing job of showing how and what trees do. We take nature for granted and this book shows you the importance of what trees do for us in everyday life. This book was great for realizing season change and I used it in many of my science lesson plans. It is a good and easy book for children to understand and enjoy reading.
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Posted April 15, 2007
Udry Janice may A tree is nice, Harper & Row publishers, 1956 Born in Jacksonville, Illinois on June 14, 1928, Janice May Udry's first book, A Tree is Nice, was awarded the Caldecott Medal for Marc Simont's illustrations. She was an only child, Ms. Udry graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. It was there that she met her future husband, Richard Udry. After graduation, she worked for one year in a Chicago nursery. It was there that she became enchanted by the idea of writing for children. Among her other books are The Moon Jumpers 'illustrated by Maurice Sendak, it won a Caldecott Honor in 1959', Let's Be Enemies 'also illustrated by Sendak', and Glenda 'illustrated by Simont'. This book a tree is nice is at the reading level 2.. It was a book full of color and details. The book is a story showing how the world gives to us. It shows us why a tree is good all year long and during each season . It shows us how we can give back to the world and get even more. It can be used to teach environment awareness or even for teaching the seasons. I think this would be a interesting book for children to read. They will enjoy the pictures and it will teach them a lesson about the seasons and nature.. ¿ trees are very nice, they fill up the sky¿ I planted that tree¿. Hey kids what are trees good for. How can you use them all year long. Read this book and see for your self
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Posted April 13, 2007
Janice May Udry's first book ¿A Tree is Nice¿ was published in 1956 and won the Caldecott Medal in 1957 for the illustrations by Marc Simont. Udry was born in 1928 in Jacksonville, Illinois. She graduated from Northwestern University, and she currently lives with her husband in California. Simont was born in Paris and currently lives with his wife in West Cornwall, Connecticut. He has illustrated many books for Harper and Row Publishers as well. ¿A Tree is Nice¿ explores all the benefits that trees bring to us. Not only does it emphasize the benefits of trees, but it also emphasizes the importance of valuing trees and nature. The book list how trees can be used in several ways, such as for shade, ¿A tree shades the house and keeps it cool.' Another way trees can be used is for animals, ¿Birds build nests in trees and live there.' Trees can also be a lot of fun, ¿A tree is nice to hang a swing on.¿ At the end of the book, it says ¿A tree is nice to plant.¿ Do you know how to plant a tree? Read the book and you will find out. This books text is simple, yet, it is beautiful as well. Some of the illustrations are made in a variety of rich colors on some pages, while others are done in black and white. I think the book would be more splendid if each and every page had magnificent colors. The illustrations also show pictures of the different seasons, which can be used to teach children about the seasons. Children will not only enjoy reading the delights of trees, but they will also learn as they read. Udry, Janice M. Simont, Marc. A Tree is Nice. New York: Harper and Row, 1956.
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Posted December 4, 2006
What exactly is a tree good for? We all know that we get oxygen from trees and plants, and we can use trees as shade on a hot summer day, but what are some other ways trees are nice. This simple easy to read book gives us many reasons why trees are useful and good for our environment.
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Posted November 30, 2006
A Tree Is Nice is a lovely little book that is dedicated to those tall, slender giants that tower above us - trees, of course! Trees give us fruit and shade and so many other comforts. ¿Trees make the woods. They make everything beautiful.¿ Sometimes we may tend to forget what an important part of our lives trees really are. Why do you think a tree is nice? You should turn the pages of this book to see if the author agrees with you! The pictures in this book are also very colorful, youthful and fun. Enjoy!
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Posted November 25, 2006
A Tree is Nice emphasizes the importance of valuing trees and nature. It is a simple and easy to understand book that helps us to appreciate trees. The text is very reader friendly which builds up confidence in young readers. The story tells about the many nice things about trees and all of the tremendous things trees do for us. The list of possible uses for trees is almost endless. It includes for playing forts, providing sticks to dig in the dirt with, a place for houses for birds, an escape route for cats, giving shade from the hot sun, and blocking the wind off of our homes. The author encourages tree planting by including instructions on how to plant a tree of your own. She enthusiastically describes the pride that can be felt over the years in watching your tree grow and in telling others that, 'I planted that tree' then 'They wish they had one so they go home and plant a tree too.' A Tree Is Nice is a delightful book that I would recommend for all children. It is a must have for every collection.
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Posted November 27, 2006
This is a great story for kids to read so that they can become more familiar to trees and how they are used in everyday life. The story tells all the uses the tree has such as, an escape route for cats, shade for us to enjoy, an many, many others. The author even gives instructions on how a child can plant a tree and how it grows. This would be a great book for first and second grade readers but it is appropriate for children of all ages. This book fits into the informational category.
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Posted March 27, 2011
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Overview
Trees are beautiful. They fill up the sky. If you have a tree, you can climb up its trunk, roll in its leaves, or hang a swing from one of its limbs. Cows and babies can nap in the shade of a tree. Birds can make nests in the branches. A tree is good to have around. A tree is nice.