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Planting Magic: Tree Books for ages 2-12

Updated: May 24, 2019

"There is nothing wrong with having a tree for a friend." - Bob Ross


We Planted a Tree

by Diane Muldrow and Bob Staake

Through a simple poetic sharing on how two families plant trees in two different parts of the world, this sweet book reveals the everyday importance of trees. As the trees flourish and grow, so do the families that planted them. The benefits (providing clean air, nourishment, and protection from the sun) of trees and the importance of nature across the world, wherever we live, are easily understood in this charming book.





Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book

by Britta Teckentrup


With rhyming text and happy bright playful illustrations, young readers get to "peek through" each season of an apple tree’s yearly transformation, and gain glimpses of seasonal wildlife as they capture the magic of trees all year round. This is a delightful sharing for early childhood youngsters.









The Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Trees

by Patricia Daniels


This field guide weaves standard information about various tree species’ appearances, locations, and growth habits with engaging lore, quirky features, and uses. Complete with bottom-line tips for “10 second spotting,” and insider “Don’t Be Fooled” and “Danger!” warnings round out the page spreads, this is a fantastic book to have on hand in your pack, and for the older kiddos (readers 8-12) in your life.









Maple

by Lori Nichols 


An endearing book about a little girl named Maple and the tree planted by her parents in her honor. As they grow together, they become good friends, sharing the joys and challenges of the changing seasons and emotion. One day, a little sister named Willow is born and another baby tree is planted for her. Young readers get to share in a story about love, growth and friendship all over again, seeing that Maple and Willow's connection to their tree, is really one for any and all of us, with nature.



Call Me Tree

by Maya Christina Gonzalez


With its cheerful artwork and lyrical bilingual text (Spanish), this story is a celebration of growing possibilities for both trees and children. The illustrations depict youngsters in different yoga poses alongside a variety of trees, inviting young readers not just to listen to and read about trees, but to be actively be them, too!









The Forever Tree

by Tereasa Surratt and Donna Lukas


The touching story, inspired by a real tree, lives up to its title by demonstrating why trees are worthy of enduring love. There’s so much to enjoy about this book, from the quirky animals who love their tree for “weddings and bingo championships,” to the sweet grandfather who hangs a swing for his granddaughter, to the way a community rallies to preserve an ailing tree in a unique way.







Kate, Who Tamed the Wind

by Liz Garton Scanlon


Kate is the kind of girl who doesn’t shy away from a problem. When a relentless wind torments a neighbor living “in a creaky house at the tip-top of a steep hill,” she knows just the solution. The image of her dragging saplings up the hill in her wagon is touching, as is the friendship that grows alongside the trees she plants. Enjoy this story to broaden children’s perspectives on the positive effects of trees on our planet.




The Lumberjack's Beard

by Duncan Beedie


A lumberjack is an unlikely character for a story about trees, but in this case, an effective one. He initially invites the animals he’s displaced to live in his beard; however, this turns out, not surprisingly, to be a less-than-ideal solution. Then, he wises up and replaces his felled trees with new plantings. Giving the animals the home they deserve, and all of them a bit more peace and beauty.





The Tree Lady

by H. Joseph Hopkins


More than 100 years ago, a pioneering heroine began to change the landscape of San Diego, one tree at a time. This book shares the true story of the green-thumbed Kate Sessions and efforts that turned her desert-like city into a garden-like oasis. and her inspiring biography may just inspire your little one to get outside and plant a tree of their own.



Our Tree Named Steve

by Alan Zweibel

When a family builds a new house, a large tree on the property is spared and named “Steve” by the youngest child. Over time, the tree indeed becomes apart of every day family life, acting as a laundry line, holding up a hammock, and standing over them at family picnics. Unexpectedly a bad storm fells Steve while the kids are away and together the family shares in the shared joys and sadness. An excellent book for helping kids work through loss and understand how the things and people we love carry on in our memories.



Crinkleroot’s Guide To Knowing The Trees

by Jim Arnosky 


This whimsical field guide to trees contains a treasure of information about hard and softwoods, from the anatomy and various seed and leaf shapes of different species to an explanation of the role of trees in the forest and the tree lifecycle. A friendly, childlike woodsman invites the reader to observe and appreciate forests while offering clear and informative bits on its life.







Tap The Magic Tree

by Christie Matheson 


Young readers (ages 2-5) will enjoy this sweet interactive book as they’re asked to tap, swish, turn, and blow a kiss with each page. Amazingly, as they do so, they’ll see that the scene changes before their eyes. The simple, easy-going telling of the cycle of the seasons is delightful and encourages a sense of playful wonder.





Who Will Plant a Tree?

by Jerry Pallotta


We had such fun learning about the different ways that seeds are dispersed or planted by helpful animals all over the planet. Creatures large and small, in oceans, deserts, and forests all pitch in to keep the world in good supply of saplings. The animals are illustrated in rich detail alongside various trees shown in several stages of their development.





The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-ups

by Gina Ingoglia


How do trees grow? Why do leaves change? What kind of tree is that? The most recent guide from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s seeks to answer your family's sought after tree-related questions in an easy-to-understand way. Sharing 33 different North American trees from city landscaping to rural mountains, spanning the east to the west, each profile includes a beautiful botanical illustration as well as life-size depictions of its leaf, flower, and seed.

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