The Gravity Tree: The True Story of a Tree That Inspired the World

by Anna Crowley Redding, Yas Imamura (Illustrator)

Overview

From Emmy Award-winning journalist Anna Crowley Redding comes a captivating nonfiction picture book that explores the fabled apple tree that inspired Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity. From a minor seed to a monumental icon, it inspired the world’s greatest minds, including Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

"A sweet windfall of history and inspiration."  —Kirkus (starred review)

"This picture book may resonate with science-minded children." —Booklist

A tree may seem like a rather ordinary thing. But hundreds of years ago, a tree was about to embark on an extraordinary journey. And it all started with just a speck of a seed. . . .

It began in the 1600s with a seed that became the tree that grew the apple that fell right before Isaac Newton’s eyes. This seemingly simple event sparked one of the greatest scientific discoveries—Newton’s theory of gravity! A chain reaction of ideas and discoveries followed from the likes of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, who traveled to the place where these scientific journeys began—Isaac’s tree.

From rocketing into space to adorning the queen’s carriage, the Gravity Tree’s unexpectedly remarkable and true life story is a tale for the ages. Award-winning journalist Anna Crowley Redding unearths the story of how something so small could change the world. The Gravity Tree is a beautiful nonfiction picture book to share at home or in the classroom.

A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year

A Kirkus Children's Best Book of the Year

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062967367
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/25/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	532,692
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Anna Crowley Redding loves nothing more than putting on a detective hat to discover a forgotten tale of history and heroism, which made Rescuing the Declaration of Independence such fun to write. Anna’s stealthy research skills come from an Emmy Award–winning career as an investigative reporter and a lifelong tendency to never mind her own business. Anna is also the author of Google It: A History of Google and Elon Musk: A Mission to Save the World. She lives with her family outside Portland, Maine. You can visit her at www.annacrowleyredding.com.

Yas Imamura is an illustrator of many picture books for children, including Winged Wonders by Meeg Pincus and The Very Oldest Pear Tree by Nancy I. Sanders. She’s also a product designer for clients such as Anthropologie, Papyrus, and Sanrio. She currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. You can visit her at www.yasimamura.com.

Editorial Reviews

"A sweet windfall of history and inspiration."  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Generations of scientists, including Albert Einstein in 1930 and Stephen Hawking in 1987, have visited the Gravity Tree to pay their respects to Newton…this picture book may resonate with science-minded children.” — Booklist

From the Publisher

Generations of scientists, including Albert Einstein in 1930 and Stephen Hawking in 1987, have visited the Gravity Tree to pay their respects to Newton…this picture book may resonate with science-minded children.

Booklist

Generations of scientists, including Albert Einstein in 1930 and Stephen Hawking in 1987, have visited the Gravity Tree to pay their respects to Newton…this picture book may resonate with science-minded children.

Booklist

05/01/2021

PreS-Gr 3—This nonfiction picture book tells the story of the tree Isaac Newton observed, which inspired his scientific discovery of universal gravity. After Newton's observations made the tree living history, it became known as the Gravity Tree. People from near and far flocked to the tree just to sit under it, to eat one of its apples. In 1820, a storm threatened to destroy the Gravity Tree, severely splintering it. Luckily, the tree was still alive and new roots formed, allowing the tree to continue to grow. In 1930, Albert Einstein visited the tree on his way to deliver a lecture about his ideas which were built on Newton's discoveries. Physicist Stephen Hawking, whose work studying black holes and gravity hearkens back to Newton, visited the tree in 1987, and in 2010 a sliver of the tree was released aboard the International Space Station. The Gravity Tree continues to thrive and new gravity trees have been created by expert gardeners planting seeds from its apples. In lyrical storytelling, award-winning investigative reporter Redding imparts the message that small, ordinary things can change the world with the aim of inspiring children to recognize that they have the potential to influence the world. Back matter includes information about the Gravity Tree; brief biographies of Newton, Einstein, and Hawking; a bibliography; and a time line. The expressive artwork supports the text and the book's potential to work well as a read-aloud title. VERDICT Where science meets history, inspiration grows; recommended purchase for all collections.—Samantha Lumetta, P.L. of Cincinnati and Hamilton Cty., OH

School Library Journal

★ 2021-03-02
All about the apple that (contrary to legend) did not hit Isaac Newton’s head in the mid-17th century—and what became of the tree from which it fell.

The apple may have missed, but the insight into why it fell down instead of, say, up struck the young genius hard enough to revolutionize our understanding of how the physical universe works…and to turn the tree into a destination for generations of pilgrims. As Redding relates with alliterative vim, the tree survived a lightning strike around 1820, though pieces of it were carved into a chair—“a perfect perch for pondering”—and, much later, carried onto the International Space Station. It still produces fruit to this day, sending offspring to grow around the world. In the wake of illustrating Nancy I. Sanders’ The Very Oldest Pear Tree (2020), Imamura portrays the tree from first tiny seed to gnarled snag, inspiring visitors from Albert Einstein in 1930 to Stephen Hawking in his wheelchair in 1987. As the centuries pass, racially diverse background characters begin to diversify the mostly White cast…and on the final page, a brown-skinned child stands in for readers with, the author writes, a similar “potential to change the world.” (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 77% of actual size.)

A sweet windfall of history and inspiration. (biographical notes, bibliography, timeline) (Informational picture book. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews