Children's books: "Little Tree and the Wood Wide Web", "21 Things to Do with a Tree", and "Project Earth"

Little Tree and the Wood Wide Web by Lucy Brownridge, illustrated by Hannah Abbo (Ivy Kids Eco)
21 Things to Do with a Tree by Jane Wilsher and Martin Stanev (Ivy Kids Eco)
Project Earth by Carol Kim, illustrated by Ahya Kim (Picture Window Books)

Diving into the world of children's books! This time, a trio of books about trees and taking care of Earth.

Little Tree and the Wood Wide Web is a great way to teach kids a bit about the interconnected nature of, ah, nature. The lushy illustrated picture book tells the story of one young tree struggling to put down its roots in a big forest—and the other trees that come to its aid through a network of woods and fungus. ('The Wood Wide Web' is wonderfully punny, but the book tells us that it was actually coined by Suzanne Simard, who is—I Googled—a professor of forest and conservation sciences at UBC.)

The illustrations are soothing and eye-catching, somehow managing to be both consistent and varied. I love the little faces in the trees, but my favorite spread by far is the one where Little Tree is sad at night; the colors in the leaves are really gorgeous.

Adults reading to children—get out your reading glasses, because the text is small. Worth it for the combination of story and science, though!

21 Things to Do with a Tree is, as the title suggests, all about trees and some ways to get to know them better. Some of the activities are more likely to hold kids' attentions than others, but the illustrations are absolutely wonderful—delicate and detailed. They're also casually, naturally inclusive: the children (and adults) in the book have varying skin tones, some are wearing hijabs (and one is wearing a dinosaur sweater—and okay, that has nothing to do with diversity, but it's adorable), and one character is in a wheelchair. There's stuff for kids of different ages and interests and physical abilities in here. It's great. (The book is also careful to slip in safety reminders as needed. Don't eat the berries!)

I'm torn between making a "go climb a tree" joke or making a John Gorka reference—but I guess I can do both! Climbing a tree is already in the book, which gives me twenty-two things to do with a tree.

Another wonderful addition to a kids' bookshelf. Honestly, I'm taking some tips—as a grown adult—from page 24 on how to plant a tree...and I'm also going to go look up Gorka's "Branching Out" again. May this book prove to be as timeless as that song.

In Project Earth, written for slightly more advanced readers, Jina has a problem—climate change! When she learns about the effect climate change is having on polar bears, she's determined to be part of the solution. But that's not as easy as it seems...

This chapter book is a nice introduction to climate change for young readers. Jina's understanding of climate change (and the things that contribute to it) is simple, but that's appropriate for the target age range of 6–8. The illustrations (many of which are full-page) are fantastic and a great fit for the book. And, as a bonus, there's a side story about reaching out to new classmates and making new friends, which manages to fit seamlessly into the broader story.

This is part of a series, so if kids enjoy Jina's adventures there are more books to expand their understanding of how to do right by Earth—I'd love to see a later book find Jina joining in a protest or something regarding policies that are contributing to climate change, since the difference that individuals can make pales in comparison to the damage big corporations can do to the environment.

Thanks to the authors and publishers for providing review copies through NetGalley.