Friday 19 February 2021
Review: The Tree
Good friends Cow and Duck live together in a giant tree that supplies them with an abundance of their favourite food. Other smaller animals also share homes and sustenance within its branches and roots. There was more than enough for them all.
When Cow feels the need for change, she builds a comfortable place for herself and fences it off. This creates the first rift. Duck, offended, digs a bunker at the base with a secret entrance and a key.
Two solitary and separate lives form.
It is a storm that alters their lives again. The tree withstands the storm as its branches bend and weave with the wind. But the two friends aren't as flexible.
Desperate to maintain her ownership of the tree, Cow saws and cuts, until the tree is disfigured.
Duck fences up everything around him, as if an invasion is imminent. He too, has secured his area.
A second storm tests the tree. With no branches to bend, the tree is uprooted. All the animals become homeless. They need each other now more than ever.
It is a long time till a shoot becomes a sapling. Now the two friends, together again, water and care for the promise of new life. When big enough, there is no thought for doors and fences. No branches cut. All the animals return home.
Through stunning artwork combined with clever text, Graeme Base, focuses on the importance of getting along with each other, sharing what you have as there is always enough for all, and protecting at all cost, the living things in nature, particularly trees.
Title: The Tree
Author/Illustrator: Graeme Base
Publisher: Penguin, $24.99
Publication Date: 3 November 2020
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760897048
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Book
