The Second Life of Trees

by Aimée M. Bissonette, Nic Jones (Illustrator)

Overview

Trees can live a very long time, but what happens when they die? This unusual book describes, in lyrical prose accompanied by colorful and graphic illustrations, that trees have a whole long second life, continuing to contribute to their habitat, the environment, and the cycle of life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807572818
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	09/15/2021
Series:	Imagine This!
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	AD850L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Aimée M. Bissonette earned her bachelor's degree from Colorado State University and her law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. She has worked as an occupational therapist, teacher, lawyer, and small business owner. She is an active member of SCBWI and lives in Minnesota.

Nic Jones graduated from the University of Bolton with a first in Animation and Illustration. She often finds herself inspired by the intricacy and beauty of the natural world, and applies this to her illustration and design.

Editorial Reviews

"Most of the vibrant, mixed-media art is laid out in double-page spreads...Timely."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2021-06-29
The premise: “Trees—both living and dead—are microhabitats where all sorts of activity takes place.”

Most of the vibrant, mixed-media art is laid out in double-page spreads. The initial one describes a boreal forest. It also introduces a mature balsam tree, about 24 inches in diameter, that will be followed, loosely, from its current, upright status all the way to the decayed state of “nurse log.” The conversational text is both informative and verbose. In general, the text uses larger type for the trajectory of the tree’s life and for general facts about forest life, with further details displayed in smaller font. The first pages note the tree’s importance for shelter, food, soil stabilization, and oxygen. There is one early mention of one role of dead trees, but it is after the previously identified balsam is uprooted by weather that the text firmly asserts that the tree’s downing signifies a crucially important “second life.” Bacteria, fungi, and insects work on decomposition; earthworms eat bacteria and fungi and create humus. The colorful pages that follow are full of facts about flora and fauna availing themselves of fallen-tree benefits during up to 125 years of seasonal cycles. The final page before the author’s note reiterates an idea that is still controversial in forest-management circles: that dead and dying trees are necessary to healthy forests. To appreciate the text, it should be read sequentially but not in one sitting.

Timely. (author’s note, activity, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews