Beautiful, engaging, informative book! Let’s be honest: children’s non-fiction is often horrible. As a non-fiction enthusiast, I’m often really disappointed by the pandering, dry, and/or just plain ugly non-fiction available to children. I want children to love non-fiction as much as I do, but so many children’s books make that hard! This book truly stands out. Its design is beautiful. Its first part is lyrical and compelling. And its last section held my attention, down to the very last word. Kudos to Hirsch and thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

Rise to the Sky by Rebecca E. Hirsch (illustrated by Mia Posada) is a perfect introduction to the study of trees, the water cycle, and photosynthesis for younger elementary students. The simple language and stunning artwork reminiscent of Ashley Bryan's papercut collages makes for an absolutely delightful picture book for children and adults alike. The more detailed information at the end of the book is perfect for young readers who are ready to dive deeper into the topic. For school librarians, this would be a perfect book to use with K-2 while the older students read Jason Chin's Redwoods. I will be recommending this book to our elementary teachers and librarians.

This is a lovely beginning reader book about trees. It has good illustrations and plenty of facts about how trees function but at a level that young readers can understand. For children interested in the world around them, this is a great introduction to how trees grow up, up, up!

This book is a surprise read for me and one that I actually found quite pleasing since it kept bypassing all my expectations with ever flip of the pages. So as a result I have to say it is probably one of the best newer books I have come upon in quite a while.

When I first opened the book I thought it was going to be about a single tall specimen that everyone knows about such as the giant sequoia or even the redwood. So what a surprise for me that the book mentions several tall species with some that I haven't heard of before before going into a basic summary of what all tall trees need at the most basic levels.

Where I wished there had been inclusion of actual technical terms there was a diagram in the back of the book providing the information thus allowing the basic body of the book to be easily readable and easy-to-understand for the youngest readers. And where the book made mention of specific events in the life cycle of the trees I was hoping that we would get a chance to have that illustrated and it was done so in quite a classy way that it didn't take away from the illustrations as a whole.

And talking about illustrations this book is a masterpiece! The illustrator use collage as a medium and although the colors tend to veer of course towards natural colors the use of the materials helped to add shades, textures and even given the flip of the page perspective of height as well as dimension.

Furthermore for the curious reader there are tucked in the back after the story some tree-related activities, the same before mentioned diagram of how trees grow, a Q&A about tall trees and a map of where the tallest trees live. And this is where I came to slight bump....

I am not sure whether it was the intention of the book's publisher to leave half this map unfinished or whether it will be fixed in those editions to be released upon publication. The portion of the map showcasing the western hemisphere provides the reader with pictures of the trees, their scientific name, their height and a generalized location such as the state plus country where they can be found. On the other half of the map the reader is just provided pictures of the trees and the names as well as lines showing what countries they are from but nothing else. I would hope that this would be fixed in the future since it would help to finish round out the book's general message of all tall trees.

Its simple presentation, the beautiful artwork and the thought put into this book will most definitely help all readers to get a better starter's grasp on tall trees while hopefully instilling in children the wonder of these behemoths. As a result tThis book would make for a great addition to any science libraries and/or nature collections for children.

**I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

The upcoming “Rise to the Sky” is another entry into the children’s non-fiction market featuring the natural environment. What sets this one apart from others is the accessible explanation of tree biology and the richly-textured collage illustrations.

I was surprised, but delighted, to read author Rebecca E. Hirsch’s descriptions of the trees. She makes complicated processes easy to understand. There are additional explanations for adults and older children in the back of the book accompanied by a list of books for further reading. Mia Posada’s collages are amazing and bring to life the texture of the living trees.

This book is great for children, and anyone else, interested in the natural world or trees. “Rise to the Sky” will be out next month.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group’s Millbrook Press for an advance reader’s copy in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This was an educational book about how trees grow, especially about how they grow to be so tall. While I already had a rudimentary understanding of the process, I can't say that I really knew that them growing in places with mild climates and not a whole lot of wind was a thing. The language in the book is simple enough that young children should be able to understand it, and it did feel pretty informative.

The illustrations were like pieces of colored tissue paper were glued onto another piece of paper to create the images, giving depth and texture to the images. It's a method that I don't feel like it's used a lot, although I feel like I've seen it somewhat frequently in the books I've been reading lately, so maybe it's a current trend that I just don't know about.

Being an educational book, it was a bit dry in tone, so I'm not sure I'd really want to read it many times, but being educational, multiple readings would also be more beneficial. Overall I give this book 3.97 out of 5 stars.

This book has it all! Beautiful pictures, the perfect balance of knowledge and fun. The author gives relevant comparisons and I love the last few pages that have activities, the map and pictures.

Beautiful way to teach children about trees, and how they grow tall. The text flows like a poem and the illustrations are just stunning. Brilliant non fiction.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a super fast and educational look at something most of us see everyday but probably don't think much about - trees! The illustration style was unique and eye-catching, making the eye imagine texture where there wasn't any on the page. The information was great for a K or older group, maybe preschool if they were especially precocious.

quick and easy ready with great information and awesome art style - highly recommend!

Just which are the tallest trees? Where do they live? Just how old is old for a tree? How do these trees compare to things like the Statue of Liberty or even each other? What makes them grow?
This book answers these questions and a lot more! I want one!
The illustrations by Mia Posada are lovely, look like they're made with real bark, and fun!
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school or your public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Lerner Publishing Group/Millbrook Press ™ via NetGalley. Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lerner Publishing Group, and Millbrook Press for the e-ARC to read and review. This was a beautiful love letter to the tallest trees on earth, and a great size comparison to other impossibly-tall things out there that can help contextualize them against. It's also a great scientific look at how plants live, grow, and function - perfect for little plant-lovers and budding gardeners! I particularly loved the collage-style illustrations, which bring so much texture to the rich and colorful pages.

I received an Advanced Reader copy from Netgalley for my honest review. I love nature and being in the forest. This picture book has great illustrations. It has comparisons between trees. Maps of trees around the world. A glossary of parts of a tree! This book is extremely well written. School and public libraries should definitely add this book to their collection!

Rise to the Sky is beautifully written and illustrated. With step-by-step visuals on the ways trees grow. This text is an ideal science text, especially when teaching photosynthesis and plant growth.

What an interesting book! I love books that are interesting to my kids as well teaching them something. The illustrations are just magic and the journey of a tree is explained in a way even young kids can grasp.

What is the tallest living thing and how did it get that way? This question and more are ably addressed in this delightful blend of science, botany, history, and nature.

Step into a world of arboreal splendor in Rebecca Hirsch’s Rise to the Sky. Learn how some of the world’s tallest trees such as Coast Redwood, Southern Blue Gum and Giant Sequoias grow from seed to root and beyond. How a tree stretches to “feed” itself sunlight. How leaves use sun, water, and carbon dioxide from the air to make sugar and oxygen. How trees are thirsty and how they “drink” and breathe.

Additional information on how fast tall trees grow, how tall can trees get, how long tall trees live, and how to measure a tall tree is included. Also included are photos and maps of specific tall trees and where they live, in case you want to find some for yourself.

Opening the pages of this book is like falling into a vast vat of verdure. You can almost hear the rustle of tree branches and breathe in their natural freshness. Young readers will discover a new respect for and understanding of these magnificent trees and their growing cycles through lyrical prose and vivid illustrations.

Rise to the Sky is a skillful blend of education and awe. Enriching and engaging, Rise to the Sky will surely captivate its target audience of children ages five to ten.

What a neat child's book! It's a one-and-done - not something I'd add to the nightly rotation. But the illustrations are abstract and pretty cool, and the science-filled pages were fun to read and learn about. I also like that they had way more info in the back and even some activities for the kids.

I really love the graphics in this book; that they kind of look like artwork that’s put together with tissue paper, clever since paper comes from trees! It’s very informative and would teach kids about how trees grow for sure, a bit long would be my only critique! Love the comparisons to other tall things and love the tall trees around the world!

Breathtaking. This book follows the life cycle of a tree, and it’s told in a way that makes science and nature fascinating and accessible, and not just for kids! I also loved the style of art they chose—I think it was a kind of paper collage—because it added texture to the page and made it seem more alive.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by telling you how unique and beautiful the illustrations in this little book are! The pictures and truly unique and I don’t think I have seen many books with illustrations made this way. So creative! The illustrations alone are worth it, I will be showing this book’s illustrations to my art-loving child and I am sure it will inspire her to try creating illustrations the same way.
Art aside, the words in this book are great also. This is a good introduction to finding out more about nature, about trees, and about plants in general. Read this book, go out in nature, look at the trees, talk about it, look for smaller, younger trees, look at older trees, look at all sorts of leaves. This book looks like a fun way to get a child more interested in nature.

What am amazing book to introduce kids to the biology of plants! My 5 year old was able to pronounce "photosynthesis" and have a general understanding of what that meant. It was fascinating to learn about the tallest tree around the world and how long many of them have been alive. The reading was easy and the illustrations were great. I particularly liked the illustrations showing the size scales of the trees vs the animals that my child already recognizes - like a giraffe or elephant - and the maps depicting where these various trees are located around Earth.

Learning how trees grow, what they need to survive and how they create their own sugars from sunlight and carbon dioxide, and how their roots grow was also very educational.

This book would be great not only for families but also for classrooms and educational programs, especially around Earth Day and Arbor Day or other similar type celebrations.