This book explores a child's relationship with a tree. The pages have sidebars with fun facts about trees and ideas for tree-related activities, but I found that looking at these notes disrupted the experience of reading the story. If I were reading this to a child, I would read the main text first and then go back to the facts and suggestions.

What I found even more strange about this book is the focus on how the little girl spends so much time with this tree while she is visiting her grandmother. If this were a tree that was in her backyard, or at a local park, the story would make more sense, but instead, we're supposed to believe that a tree, not her grandmother, was the focus of the visit. It's an odd choice for the narrative, because it's distracting to think about Grandma being rejected when poor Grandma didn't even need to be in the story at all, and this could have just been about a girl and a tree.

Still, this book has a nice illustrations, is educational, and encourages children to explore nature. There are many children's books about nature that view trees in a mystical and fantastical way, and even though this imagination can be fun, it's also important for there to also be matter-of-fact books about botany. Despite the weird elements of this book, I am rating it three stars for filling this gap in the picture books available to families and educators. This isn't going to be anyone's favorite storybook to return to again and again, but it fulfills its purpose as an educating tool.

I could see this book working well in an educational setting: the text is accompanied by prompts encouraging the reader to interact with trees around them. It is a bit weak in terms of a story line but I could see children enjoying looking at the pictures that are quite vivid and inviting.

Zzzzzzzz .... Oh, sorry. Let me wake up to write this review after reading this book.
In Under My Tree by Muriel Tallandier, Susanne is visiting her grandparents' house. One day, she goes on a walk with her grandma, but it starts raining. They find shelter under a tree and find an owl with their babies. Susanne then determines that this is her tree and visits it every day. At the end of summer, her mom comes to pick Susanne up and she has to leave her tree, but she will always remember their friendship and will visit the tree on vacations.

Well, I'm not really sure where to start. Did I like this book? No. Would I buy this book? No. First off, I didn't get the point of the story. By the end, I was thinking, 'Was that it?' The answer was yes. I guess I was expecting more of a story than what I read. Also, it was extremely boring. I would not want to read this to my child out loud because I would not want to read this myself. We just went through Susanne going to her tree six days in a row doing different things. The illustrations were not that great. I mean, yes, they are way better than what I could do, but it just doesn't seem like it would capture the interest of a child.

I will say, the one thing I liked about the book was in the bottom corner of some of the pages there was a "Try this!" or "Did you know?" section. Honestly, that was my favorite part of the book. Maybe this book would be better for a child if you take it outside and read it to them under a tree. I think it is supposed to be for children who ask "Why" and "What" all the time. So, it might work for you if your child wants to learn more about trees. I don't see this as a book that will get read more than once, so maybe just pick it up from the library if you want to read it with your child. I would recommend this for ages 4 to 7.

Personally, I don't ever want to read it again, which is a problem when your child wants to read books on repeat. I just didn't like the way it was written or the storyline. Maybe it is just me though. You might end up loving it.

This is a sweet little picture book about a child who loves a tree she visits when she stays with her grandparents. Pages go into details of how she loves the way it feels, the way so many insects live on it, the smell of its fruit and so on. Little blurbs give facts or challenges on many pages. I read it to my 8 year old last night at bedtime and she liked it, though she said, "I kinda feel like she's throwing some shade at her grandma, saying her favorite thing about visiting is spending time with a tree!". ;) It also seems a little weird that she supposedly lives in such an urban setting that she can't have a favorite tree at home, and that spending time with a big tree in a forest would be that gratifying.

The blurb about this book says that it's a modern day Giving Tree, and I disagree completely. There is no personified relationship between this child and this tree. She simply likes spending time there. The tree doesn't give her gifts, and there is no theme about selfishness or selflessness. It's a sweet celebration of nature with nice illustrations and some facts about trees. It doesn't need an artificial comparison with a great classic to sell it.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

Under My Tree follows Susanna, a young girl who finds a tree she loves in the forest near her Grandparent's home. She visits the tree, does activities there, and so on. The book has tidbits like fun facts about trees and suggestions for kids to create an interactive experience. The illustrations were great, I thought the story was a bit odd/cheesy, it didn't seem overly realistic for today's day and age. I think it would be best if read to young children. Also, I enjoyed the blurbs and the suggestions/fun facts, but I can't imagine how that would work reading to a group of kids, or even one. It breaks up the story in an odd way. However, I think the topic and information is great and important to teach kids! This book could definitely be used in a classroom scenario.