Exploring the importance of trees and how vital they are, alongside 21 wonderful different tree-related activities.

From bark rubbing to tree hugging, forest bathing to birdwatching. This is a lovely book for little ones, and the perfect summer holiday activity book to encourage kids to get outside and explore the world around them!

Thank you to NetGalley & Quarto Publishing for the DRC

There's a kid in a wheelchair on the cover of the book! I love when books include disabilities, so I had high hopes upon turning the first page. Next, I laughed at the warning not to eat poop. I thought, "Yep, this is a book I must share with my boy."

As I continued my journey through the tree activities, I discovered numerous facts about trees, some of which I didn't even know as an adult. From how roots work to how bark protects the trees (did you know cinnamon is bark?), why leaves are green, and the lifecycle of an apple, 21 Things to Do With a Tree is filled with facts about trees.

The activities progress in order, similar to how a scientist discovers a new object and looks for clues about how it works. The book continually asks questions about the tree, which helps keep a child engaged. I would take this book with us on tree adventures and help connect the facts with the tree we're looking at. I also liked how many activities involved art and movement.

When I read nonfiction books, I consider how to incorporate them into a curriculum. Almost every page could be its own lesson. We have math with measuring the tree's diameter and height, science when talking about how trees breathe, how trees grow, and the lifecycle of fruit, civics with recycling and communities, and PE with climbing trees, among others.
I look forward to using this book as an activity guide.

Recommended age: 8-10 years (Elementary school)

Writing style: The book is directed to the child. It frequently asks questions like "What's your tree's name?" and "Do you prefer apples or oranges?" I'm happy it also includes asking parents before doing anything potentially unsafe. Each page is broken down into short 1-2 sentence facts, which makes it easy to learn a bunch of information quickly.

Lexile range (unofficial): 410L - 600L
Decoding difficulty: 4/5
Vocabulary difficulty: 4/5
Sentences difficulty: 4/5
Patterns difficulty: 5/5

Illustration style: The illustrations were created digitally and contain a lot of greens, blues, and browns, as you'd expect with trees. Overall, the colors are muted, so they don't interfere with the text. There's no consistent format to the pages, which I like. Some are full-page spreads. Others contain many "sticky note" type blurbs and different paper types and are split into sections. You even need to flip vertically on one page to see the whole image. I really liked the variety here. It kept things interesting.

Reality-based: 21 Things to Do With a Tree is a nonfiction book all about trees.

Disclaimer: Thank you, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Ivy Kids, for this title. All opinions are my own.

3 ⭐️
I get that this book is trying to get kids interested in trees, but it takes some shortcuts and thought jumps I'm uneasy about.

First, should choosing a tree really be one of the things you can do WITH a tree? The title of the book implies that there is already a guaranteed tree. Selecting a tree means that there was no tree to begin with which is counter to the book's title. If you, the reader, are choosing a tree what part of this "thing" is the tree doing? Existing?

Taking a bath with one's tree is a very odd way to say "enjoy your tree" or even "bask in your tree". The fact that there needs to be an explanation that the reader is not actually taking a bath completely defeats the purpose of saying you are taking a bath with the tree.

Now that you have established yourself with your tree, out of nowhere you are planting a different tree. Not even using anything from the tree you already selected. Not exactly a good show of loyalty.

Is it really making a (tree) house together if all you are doing is coming up with ideas? If you were really making the (tree) house there would be a discussion about the materials needed. This could lead into some awkward territory when you have to explain to your child that in order to make their tree into a tree house other trees have to be sacrificed.

Ultimately, here is what I am trying to say. This book is clearly intended to lead kids toward being an environmentalist, but it doesn't want to inform the kids of any hardships that come with trees. Where is the part about pruning a tree to encourage trees to develop a strong structure and reduce the likelihood of damage during severe weather? What about the need to clear areas of trees if the area is overgrown with loose brush as those areas are a breeding ground for forest fires? If you are trying to inform kids about trees you need to add in some elements of reality in between using fallen leaves to make pictures.

This is a gorgeously illustrated book offering children 21 things to do with a tree, in the hope of their connecting with the natural world. Hopefully, the ideas will spark their curiosity and imagination to dream up their own activities and adventures.
Highly recommended.

This is a short book that educates you on the importance of trees and also on the great things to do with them.

I recommend this book to anyone.

This book helps broadens your child's mind about the wisdom of trees and how recycling helps them.
The knowledge on these lovely illustrated pages is priceless. It is an educative, active book with priceless data.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. I loved it! Perfect for families or even a younger elementary classroom. Readers are encouraged to choose a tree and study many aspects of it. I’ll definitely be recommending this to teachers for a classroom book study!!

Stunning illustrated book. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed it. It helps children and adult be more aware of nature, teaches them to see creativity in nature, ways in which nature can encourage adventures and how nature can be homes to our little animal friends.

A fresh and fun activity book that encourages children to engage with nature. Full of wonderful activities for children to enjoy throughout the summer and autumn months. Beautifully illustrated too!

If you are looking for a book to give you ideas for things that your kids can do outside in nature, then I would definitely consider picking up this book. As a parent, the teacher, I found this book to be delightful, and really insightful when it comes to things that kids can do with nature.

Loved it! Really fabulous illustrations. Lots of lovely things to do. I would definitely buy thus for my child or for a gift!

Thank you to Quarto Publishing and NetGalley for the gift of this beautiful children's book all about trees. My children are grown now, but I still love to read picture books. This one is gorgeously illustrated (thanks to the talented Martin Stanev), well researched and creatively written by Jane Wilsher. Wonderful informational activity book celebrating nature. It's perfect for children of all ages!

What a fun, creative book to encourage children to explore and experience nature. We love to take our grandkids hiking and there are so many great suggestions in this book to keep them engaged with nature. Great book! Thanks #NetGalley

As a child that both obsessed over my favorite infographic children’s encyclopedia and spent a lot of time barefoot in my favorite climbing tree, this book felt like home.

I m always immediately enamored by nature activity guides that include simple, yet stunning illustrations and infographics. Something that this book does so well that it’s targeted toward kids. While I plan to use this book to inspire child-friendly nature curriculum for my work as a environmental educator, this book is well intended for kids to read and use on their own.

I can just see my young self toting around this book and trying all the suggested activities had it been available when I was younger. I can’t wait to use it to help teach with!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this activity book!

I loved it! It's perfect for English class, I can't wait to have it in my hands and start projects with my little ones. It has a lot of cute and superb ideas for approaching trees and nature.

I love this little book! 21 Things to Do With a Tree is a storybook for young readers, filled to the brim with facts about trees and their ecosystems, as well as many fun activities to get little ones out and connecting with nature. This is a great way to encourage children both the enjoy reading AND to better appreciate the natural world.

Thank you Jane Walsh, NetGalley, and Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Kids, Ivy Kids Eco for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Oh, god! I’m in lovveee…

I moment I saw the book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it. As the title suggests, the book details 21 things a child can do with a tree. The list starts with choosing a tree and ends with looking after it. The rest of it covers different ways to understand a tree and spend quality time in nature (with and without friends).
The entire content is thoughtful and comes with enough safety instructions (with some repetitions) so that kids don’t end up hurting themselves. The rest of it provides information about trees in general. From different parts of a tree to types of leaves, animals & birds living in the trees, seasonal growth, etc., the information is crisp and to the point.
There are enough bits of humor to keep kids entertained as they learn about the importance of trees. It also promotes fun activities with friends and family.
The text is tiny, though. One page has a different design to fit the layout (which won’t be a problem for physical copies). However, I love that the publishers print their books on recycled paper to keep them planet-friendly.
The illustrations are perfect for the book. They seem like crayons (or maybe mixed with some watercolor). The pastel background with soft shades of greens, browns, and reds makes this gentle on the eyes. Diversity and inclusivity are seamlessly presented in the illustrations.
To summarize, 21 Things to Do With a Tree is a book every family should have in their home. Read it with your little ones and not-so-little ones. In fact, even you can do the same things with them. Imagine how much fun that would be!
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Kids Eco and am voluntarily leaving a review.
*****
Links to GR and Amazon reviews will be updated later.

A book perfect for anyone who loves the outdoors and trees. This is a great book for summer actives or enjoy in the fall when the leaves change colors. It is an activity book with 21 main ideas on what you can do with a tree. Each main idea has several subideas and also shares facts about trees. This non fiction book is a wonderful read!

Delightfully charming and so sweet. A story I read to my daughter and she also loved it. I will absolutely buy a hard copy when it’s available. Loved. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one early.

What a delightful book! This is the type of book my sons would have loved to revisit regularly if they'd had it when they were younger. I can also easily see this book as a wonderful addition to classroom libraries.
This nonfiction treasure is filled with little tidbits about trees. It guides the reader to explore trees in varied and creative ways. I especially like the pages that explain how to plant a tree from its seeds and how to bathe with your tree. The illustrations are subdued but adorable, with an old-school feel.