The Gentle Genius of Trees

Gr 2-4—A surprising amount of factual information about the biology of trees is served up with humor and rounded out with life lessons readers can take from the leafy giants that share the planet. Photosynthesis and carbon dioxide/oxygen exchange are economically explained. Children will be intrigued to learn of the role of an underground "wood-wide web" of mycelium that allows trees to communicate and share nutrients with one another. Bunting recommends emulating trees by supporting one another, appreciating diversity, and "push[ing] yourself toward the things that give you the most energy." Sprinkled throughout are quips, puns, and riddles that will entice kids to read every word, although some vocabulary will be challenging for the age group, such as foliaged, subterranean, and mutually beneficial. Pictures created with collage, gouache, and digital painting are arranged with plenty of clean space around them. Diagrams and labeled sequences add visual interest. VERDICT A playful yet appreciative overview of tree life that can be enjoyed by a slightly younger audience than Can You Hear the Trees Talking? by Peter Wohlleben.—Jan Aldrich Solow

Wry humor and googly eyes animate this playful, smart overview of the scientific processes that help trees to thrive. Bunting urges gratitude for all the ways "we hairy humans," portrayed with varying skin tones, benefit from woody species, and encourages amazement for the ingenious techniques trees have adapted to grow, communicate, and support one another. Infographic-like gouache and collaged illustrations portray a wide-eyed wildlife cast described with punny language: a mycellium-twined root system shares nutrients and information via a "wood-wide web of connections" ("Can I borrow a cup of glucose?" one tree asks another), and a parent tree shades a seedling to ensure its development occurs slowly enough to bolster longevity. With concluding spreads, Bunting further proposes life lessons that humans can learn from the "gentle genius of trees" ("Grow slow, grow strong"), circling back toward a subtly conservationist message of interconnection. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)