IT'S MY TREE was a fun picture book to read. My son and I enjoyed the art style, the simplicity of the squirrel, his pinecones, and his tree.

The majority of the story centers on one squirrel deciding he needs to make it clear to everyone that this is HIS tree and HIS pinecones. So he decides he's going to build a gate, a fence, a wall. But what if there's something even better on the other side of the wall?

I think this is a great story for teaching children that it's good to share. Because what if there's an entire forest of trees out there and the squirrel doesn't have to fight to keep this one tree to himself?

Definitely a book we enjoyed reading!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm split on this one. There were things I liked and things I didn't. The art was unique, a little different than what I expect in a picture book. I think the story is one that kids will identify with (not wanting to share). It's an okay read.

This is a great book about loving your neighbors and sharing. The tree isn't just the squirrel's tree and he has to learn that.

This wasn't one of my favorites. The illustrations weren't to my style and the story seems like it's been told better in other titles.

A fun picture book with layers. On the surface, it's a story of a squirrel trying to protect what he believes is his - a tree and its pine cones. But readers also get to see what happens when the squirrel tries to protect what's "his" behind a large wall - fear of missing out (FOMO), cut off from community and a larger forest of trees and pine cones. GREAT illustrations in this one! This would be great for a read-aloud and discussion.

Perfect book for young readers with gentle message regarding sharing, friendship, and caring. The theme, voice, and exaggeration greatly enhance the story telling. Abundant humor. Light reading with good thoughts.

A book about the dangers of greed and selfishness, the main character of the story is a squirrel who is obsessed with his tree. So much so that he begins to worry about other animals wanting to take it from him. He builds a wall around his tree, and then begins to wonder if there are better trees out there. What if another animal has a better tree than him? At the end, the squirrel runs off to join the rest of the forest, with no message about how wrong he was for being so greedy and selfish. It's definitely a book that requires a bit of work to explain to younger children why the squirrel was in the wrong and the power of sharing. It did recall a bit of the current situation in America with a certain president and his wall, at least for me. The illustrations of this book were excellent!

Okay, here's what I think.

First the good points:
Amazing art.
Reminds me of a few food amazing cartoons like The Roadrunner Show but mostly The Ice Age series. Honestly, I do feel it is an imitation of the same character as that in Ice Age which was obsessed with the pine cones.

Now some things I think are problematic.
What's the point of getting obsessed over something?
Specially the tree and the pine cones (or whatever good stuff it gives to others!). I guess this was meant to be funny but sadly it didn't give me that vibe or the feeling whatever that it's supposed to.

And then what's the point of teaching children to be so fiercely possessive of their possessions?

Yes, it reminded me of Ross shouting and behaving like a lunatic over HIS sandwich in F.R.I.E.N.D.S for which he ended up seeing a psychiatrist. It was funny for an adult show but nah, it isn't funny here when the word MY is emphasized over and over again with capital letters.

Love the illustrations a lot though.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

The first thing I want to say about this book is that it has the best illustrations. My grandson laughed hysterically every time I turned a page. The story had a lot of promise. It is about a greedy, selfish squirrel who does not want to share his tree with any other critter, not even the shade. He is so selfish, that he builds a fence around it. Once the fence is built, he is worried that maybe there is a better tree out there and he will miss out. A very obvious story about greed, at least to me. My 7 year old grandson got it with a bit of discussion, the younger one understands sharing, but didn't grasp the whole concept. I would have liked it better if the ending had been different and had a resolution regarding sharing etc. Having said that, this is a book that could be used to evoke some good conversations, even with adults.

Message Convoluted and Left Open for Interpretation

The front book flap states that this is supposed to teach a lesson about greed. Somehow, that message didn't come across strongly and perhaps got a little lost. What's wonderful about this book is the illustrations. We clearly can see what is going on in the little squirrel's mind. This squirrel does indeed come across as very greedy about MY tree and MY pinecones. The squirrel starts to fear that others might see this tree and its pine cones as theirs. The squirrel dreams of ways to protect it. This is where it gets a little weird. First imagining a gate and then a fence, the squirrel then contemplates a wall. But is it really just contemplation? It doesn't appear so because suddenly the squirrel is wondering what is happening on the other side of the wall. how did it go from imagination to real? Then the squirrel becomes curious about what is on the other side of the wall. Another question: If this wall is indeed real and the squirrel built it, wouldn't the squirrel already know what's behind the wall? The book ends oddly, too, with a textless page that shows the squirrel looking down on a populated forest with lots of squirrels running around and looking like they're having fun. If this book is supposed to be a lesson about greed, I feel like the author should have been more explicit. Instead, the message was left open ended, and frankly, I found the ending of the book to be completely unsatisfying. If a parent were interested in this book, he or she would need to frame this ending so it would make sense to their child and the lesson the parent wants them to take away. I also felt that perhaps his book was a little political because of the whole wall issue. That makes me a little uncomfortable.

Hilarious illustrations and an important message, a short whimsical read. Without guidance, the message may be a tad advanced for young readers, but if parents use this book to start a conversation about property and greed it would be great.

A squirrel is very devoted to his tree and the pinecones it produces. He first worries if other people might decide it is "their" tree, so he brainstorms ways he can keep others away. But in doing so, he then worries about what other trees might be out there, and if they might be better than HIS tree.

I think the lesson here is that one should be thankful for what one has, but I think the message falls short at the end, as the squirrel presumably goes off in search of other trees. The illustrations are great, which is why I gave this book 3 stars instead of 2.

This was a funny story with a good message for little ones about sharing.

Squirrel has found their favourite tree ("MY Tree") and wants to protect it from other forest animals. So squirrel thinks about building a gate or a fence, and settles on building a wall. But squirrel starts to wonder, what sort of trees are on the other side of the wall?

I really like the illustrations in this picture book. The squirrel's eyes are my favourite. I also appreciated the story revolving around greed and showing that it's better to share with others. Personally, I feel that the story ended a few pages too soon. I would have liked a more explicit realization from the squirrel that they were being selfish in keeping their tree behind a wall, before they run off to join the other squirrels in the forest. That would have tied it off better and would make for a better learning moment during read alouds with little ones. I think that I would use this for story time, but add in more discussion about the squirrel and sharing.

Loved the illustrations in this title, but loved the message more. We can be selfish! We like to own and be able to should "it's MINE!" I cannot wait to purchase this to share with my young readers. It's a wonderful lesson and one with which we can all identify.

A funny story about a squirrel and it's tree. I really liked the artwork and found the story funny. The book was an overall fun read.

The cover alone will draw in readers, from the illustration of the squirrel to the humor of him mowing the grass around HIS tree. Young readers will smile before they even open the book. A great book to read aloud. I will definitely be ordering this for my school library.

I struggled with this book. I really loved the beginning, I loved the message that it was starting to share about selfishness. But then I felt like it got to be "political" and making references to building a wall. I appreciate children's literature that focuses on children's issues and taught them about being greedy, this book seemed to get away from what I would think would be interesting to children. I did however enjoy the illustrations of the squirrel, his expressions were great!

Over the thoughts of a squirrel, we discover the idea of property, the "it's MINE !".
Haunted by the idea of having to share his goods, the little animal decides to barricade itself behind a wall.
But what's behind this one?
What if the world was better on the other side?

A very interesting subject, approached in a fun and funny way, allowing the child to make his own choices as to the moral of the story.

3.5 Stars

This story begins with an image of a squirrel sweetly hugging a tree, saying:

I love trees.
I love this tree.
It’s MY tree.

The squirrel talks about how much they love eating THEIR pinecones in the shade of THEIR tree.

And then come the worries, what if someone else decided it was their tree, and their pinecones. And what if someone else decided to actually want to eat THEIR pinecones in the shade of THEIR tree or THEIR pinecones in the shade of THEIR tree?

Build a gate? Or a fence? Or even a wall?

A big, tall and long wall to protect THEIR tree and pinecones.

And once the wall is built? It keeps others out, but maybe there are bigger, better pinecones and trees on the other side….

A charmingly illustrated way to introduce the topic of sharing to even the youngest readers. Why sharing is important, and why walls are not the answer.



Pub Date: 02 Sep 2020

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Kids Can Press via NetGalley

This book is a story about a squirrel who is totally obsessed with a tree. He doesn't want to share with anyone, and takes his desire for exclusivity to extraordinary lengths. This book is a bit funny and also a bit serious, but not quite enough of either. There's a lot to talk about, but none of that happens in the book itself. The entire onus for meaning and discovery lies with the reader. I'm not necessarily opposed to that, but I prefer a little more narrative meat on the bones.

It has a "metaphor about borders and migration" thing, but in a way that isn't super helpful. I'm definitely a bit tired of the animal-metaphor-for-human-action. There is a tendency in some children's books (and perhaps other books too, but I basically only read kids' stuff) to be so general in attempt to be relatable that it makes it completely unrelatable and irrelevant. It sometimes seems counterintuitive but specificity makes stories a lot more relatable, relevant, and human.