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Crespo, Ana

Hello, Tree

40 pp. | Little | September, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-316-42526-1 $18.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Dow Phumiruk. Crespo gives readers a story of a forest fire and its aftermath from the point of view of one who has been there: a tree. A ponderosa pine, to be exact. This one grew from a sapling in a forest clearing and describes its comfortable surroundings and those who keep it company: a family in a nearby house, animals, and other trees. But one hot and windy summer night, lightning strikes and ignites a massive fire, forcing all to flee, except the rooted-in-place tree. "All I could do...was wait." A double-page spread of vignettes shows firefighters saving animals and fighting flames, and, in a small deviation from point of view, the tree's human neighbors in a local shelter. Finally, "fire lost the battle." Two dramatic illustrations, nearly devoid of color, depict a charred landscape, with our narrator, and a few of its neighboring conifers, still standing. Soon, life returns. Spare prose outlines the process of recovery while the watercolor and digital illustrations provide a full picture of people rebuilding a home and planting seedlings, birds returning, and forest animals adapting to the changed surroundings. Concluding notes, geared to an older audience, trace the general sequence of events in forest fires, beginning with their inception and outlining both the immediate and long-term effects. Appended with a bibliography. See also Wildfire! on page 90.
Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

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