The Tree: a Fable

Reviewed by: Kathy George - Gray Public Library, Gray, Me, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: September 19, 2017

Review

A single action,used for good, can have consequences.The cutting of a single tree for something like building a home leads to the homes of the birds and animals living in the tree being lost. Can this mistake be rectified and a solution for all involved be found? Neal Layton poses this dilemma to our youngest readers. In their wish for a home, a couple begins to cut the one tree that stands in their way. As they saw, a bird's nest falls to the ground, owls fly out of their hole in the tree, and rabbits come out of their burrow at the base of the tree. Saddened at what they have done, they work for a solution that will be beneficial to all and come up with a home that works for all. The text is simple and big! The illustrations are full page, calm, light but very telling, so that the non reader knows what the story is about. A simple, quiet book about living in harmony with nature and all who share the earth.

Overall Book Score: excellent