The Tree Book Review
Summary: Graeme Base is a name that evokes wonderful memories for many people, The Tree adds to those memories.
4.7
Beautiful message
Animalia and The Eleventh Hour were more or less essential reading for myself and those of my generation (at least in my small part of the world). The stories were engaging but what really drew us in and kept us in those magical worlds was the art work and The Tree continues in the very same fashion.
The story (spoilers) is about a cow and a duck who have made their homes in/under a tree, but they become paranoid and defensive and shut the other out of their homes until a significant event makes them see the error of their ways.
I think the essential part of this review is, my eight year old daughter (so I’d guess right in the middle of the targeted age bracket) had this as her bed time stories two nights in a row after receiving it, not only that but she stated what is arguably the core concept of the book “in the end they had to work together”. This is an example of the best sort of teaching, it’s the way a lot of morals have been taught in the past and it’s a somewhat subtle way to instill some good behaviour in people. Entertain while educating.
The story is very simple, there’s nothing flash or overly deep but that’s exactly what the target audience responds to so it’s arguably perfectly pitched. The visuals are exactly what we have come to expect from Mr Base, beautiful colours with bold outlines to really make the characters pop out. Stunning wildlife rendered in fantastic naturalistic form. It’s the sort of book you can either read with your child or simply go from page to page finding all the little details, the other creatures living in the tree, the critters hiding in the shadows under the tree.
Unquestionably a great book for any youngsters in your life, perfect for story time or just for some personal reading time for your child. An easy recommendation from me!
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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