History

Author Guest Post: “Introducing Young Readers to Historical Fiction” by Deborah Hopkinson, Author of The Adventures of Trim

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“Introducing Young Readers to Historical Fiction”

I love history and inventing new ways to make it exciting to young readers, whether I’m writing nonfiction or fiction. But as I tell students at school and library author visits, lots of my experiments don’t work out. And that was nearly the case with my new intermediate series, the Adventures of Trim. 

These are short, 48-page early chapter books, enhanced by the delightful art of Kristy Caldwell. Trim Sets Sail and Trim Helps Out publish from Peachtree in October 2023. Two more titles are slated for 2024. 

The Trim books are my first venture into this short format. Trim and his non-human friends are at the center of the story, and that’s new for me too. (I’ve written only one picture book with a talking animal before.)  But although they have talking animals, the books draw on history. They also include back matter:  author’s notes to introduce the genre and point out aspects of the story inspired by real events. I’m excited about this format, but it took a long time to get here!

The Real Trim

I first came across the story of the real Trim more than five years ago. His owner was British explorer Matthew Flinders (1774-1814). Flinders, who decided to become an explorer after reading Robinson Crusoe as a boy, led the first western expedition to circumnavigate Australia at the turn of the nineteenth century. The HMS Investigator crew members included a naturalist, a botanical artist, and a landscape painter. 

There was also a ship’s cat named Trim, a feisty feline who appears to have charmed everyone on board. And like cat lovers today who share tales of their feline companions on social media, Flinders had many amusing stories about Trim’s adventures and antics. Trim learned to swim when he fell overboard as a kitten; he survived a shipwreck; he even traveled on a London stagecoach when the two visited England between expeditions. 

Trim was likely killed during the time Flinders was imprisoned by the French on the island of Mauritius, but Flinders didn’t forget his beloved cat. Lost for many years, his short tribute to Trim was discovered among his papers in the 1970s. It’s a warm-hearted, humorous, and remarkably modern-sounding account. 

And as soon as I read it, I knew I had to write about this intrepid pair, who are memorialized in statues in both Australia and England. 

But how? 

Finding a Way into the Story

After trying (and failing) with Trim as a picture book, I put it aside for a couple of years. But I didn’t entirely forget about it. I’m lucky to have an enthusiastic young reader in my life: my grandson, Oliver, now seven. Reading is our favorite activity together. As Oliver and I devoured ready-to-reads and short chapter books, I noticed that while fiction and nonfiction abounds, we found few historical fiction titles. And rarely did books for this age group include back matter. 


Oliver’s Drawing of Trim

Oliver and I are fans of Peachtree’s King and Kayla series, written by Dori Hillestad Butler and illustrated by Nancy Meyers. And when my Peachtree editor Kathy Landwehr happened to mention she was a cat lover, I wondered: Might Trim work in this format for newly independent readers?  Fortunately for me, Kathy and Peachtree were willing to take a chance. And I was thrilled to be paired with the multi-talented Kristy Caldwell, who also illustrated my picture book Thanks to Frances Perkins: Fighter for Workers Rights.

Exploring the World to Learn New Things

I think I can speak for Kristy also to say we are both excited to introduce a young audience to the genre of historical fiction through the Trim books. While the non-human characters (Trim, ship’s dog Penny, a grouchy parrot named Jack, and a rat called Princess Bea) have their own adventures, Kristy and I both have made use of online library and museum resources in England and Australia to research the expedition, the ship, and maritime customs of the early nineteenth century. 

And while Trim’s adventures are very much in the realm of fiction, I’ve been able to use  details from Flinders’s tribute, incorporating an episode where Trim falls overboard, Trim’s devotion to patrolling the hold, and his habit of stealing food off forks at the captain’s table. 

Each book contains an author’s note as well as a photo of one of the statues of Flinders and Trim. I begin by introducing the genre: “Trim Sets Sail is a made-up story about a real cat who lived in the past. We call this kind of story historical fiction.” The author’s note for each book includes information about Flinders and Trim, and sometimes short quotes from Flinders’s tribute. 

As Penny tells Trim, the goal of their expedition is to explore the world to learn new things. And I hope the Trim books encourage kids to do just that.

Also, as someone who writes about history, I am passionate about the importance of doing oral histories, preserving family stories, and writing about our lives.  After all, if Matthew Flinders had not taken the time to pen a remembrance of his cat, we wouldn’t know about Trim today. 

So I close each author’s note with some words of encouragement: “What adventures will you have and write about?”

Because you just never know. Maybe a century or two from now, someone will decide to write about you and your pet!

Trim Sets Sail (10/3/2023)
Trim Helps Out (10/24/23)
Author: Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrator: Kristy Caldwell
Published by Peachtree

About Trim Sets Sail: One small kitten learns about the great big world as he sets sail with his fellow shipmates, animal and human, in this historical fiction intermediate reader.

When Trim trips over a napping dog, little does he know that soon he’ll set sail and begin learning how to be a ship’s cat. Among his first lessons: the parts of the ship (the front is called the bow, like “bow wow”), the dynamics among his new colleagues (Jack the ship’s parrot is not so easy to befriend), and basic skills like climbing (up is easier than down) and swimming. With the assistance of Captain Flinders, Penny the ship’s dog, and Will the ship’s artist, Trim learns new skills, tests his limits and abilities, and finds a way to contribute to life onboard.

This delightful early reader series by acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson is inspired by the true story of Trim, often called the most famous ship’s cat in history. Owned by British explorer Matthew Flinders, Trim traveled on the HMS Investigator on the first expedition to circumnavigate Australia (1801–1803).

About Trim Helps Out: Trim is eager to do a good job on his first day as ship’s cat—but what is his job? All around him, members of the crew are busy with their responsibilities—too busy to notice a small kitten looking for an opportunity to contribute. Jack the parrot directs Trim to the hold, to patrol for rats. But Jack neglects to tell Trim exactly what a rat is. Surely Princess Bea, the new friend he meets below deck, isn’t a rat. She doesn’t resemble the creepy, scary-looking creature that Jack warned Trim about and she’s happy to have an assistant to fetch her biscuits from the galley.

About the Author: .Deborah Hopkinson is the author of more than seventy books for children and teens, including Carter Reads the Newspaper, illustrated by Don Tate, and Thanks to Frances Perkins, illustrated by Kristy Caldwell. Deborah lives in Oregon with her family, some noisy canaries, two dogs, and Beatrix the cat. Visit her online at DeborahHopkinson.com.

https://www.facebook.com/deborah.hopkinson.33
https://twitter.com/Deborahopkinson
https://www.instagram.com/deborah_hopkinson/

And don’t miss out on the KidLitTV Feature Airing Soon! View the promo HERE!

Thank you, Deborah, for bringing historical fiction to our newest readers!

There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds, Illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey & Jarrett Pumphrey

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There Was a Party for Langston
Author: Jason Reynolds
Illustrators: Jerome Pumphrey & Jarrett Pumphrey
Published October 3rd, 2023 by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

Summary: New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds’s debut picture book is a snappy, joyous ode to Word King, literary genius, and glass-ceiling smasher Langston Hughes and the luminaries he inspired.

Back in the day, there was a heckuva party, a jam, for a word-making man. The King of Letters. Langston Hughes. His ABCs became drums, bumping jumping thumping like a heart the size of the whole country. They sent some people yelling and others, his word-children, to write their own glory.

Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, and more came be-bopping to recite poems at their hero’s feet at that heckuva party at the Schomberg Library, dancing boom da boom, stepping and stomping, all in praise and love for Langston, world-mending word man. Oh, yeah, there was hoopla in Harlem, for its Renaissance man. A party for Langston.

Praise:

Melding celebratory text and kinetic, graphical art, the creators underscore the power of the subject’s poetry to move and to inspire. – Publishers Weekly, *STARRED REVIEW*, 8/14/2023

Evocative and celebratory words float around the dancers like strains of music, all the way to a culminating whirl of letters, laughter, and joy. Who knew these esteemed literary lions could cut the rug like that? – Booklist, *STARRED REVIEW*, 08/01/2023

Reynolds and the Pumphrey brothers take readers on a dazzling journey through Langston Hughes’ legacy … A bar set stratospherically high and cleared with room to spare. – Kirkus Reviews, *STARRED REVIEW*, 08/01/2023

This book is an absolute textual and pictorial glory of people, places, word-making, song-singing, storytelling, history-making moments, and images that are unforgettable. A beguiling, bedazzling collaboration that will send children to the shelves to learn more about all the names within, especially Hughes. – School Library Journal, *STARRED REVIEW*, July 2023

About the Creators: 

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, an Odyssey Award Winner and two-time honoree, the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He was also the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely); When I Was the Greatest; The Boy in the Black Suit; Stamped; As Brave as You; For Every One; the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Ain’t Burned All the Bright (recipient of the Caldecott Honor) and My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (both cowritten with Jason Griffin); and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.

Jerome Pumphrey is a designer, illustrator, and writer, originally from Houston, Texas. His work includes It’s a Sign!, Somewhere in the Bayou, The Old Boat, and The Old Truck, which received seven starred reviews, was named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, and received the Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award Honor—all of which he created with his brother Jarrett. They also illustrated Jason Reynolds’s There Was a Party for Langston. Jerome works as a graphic designer at The Walt Disney Company. He lives near Clearwater, Florida.

Jarrett Pumphrey is an award-winning author-illustrator who makes books for kids with his brother, Jerome. Their books include It’s a Sign!, Somewhere in the Bayou, The Old Boat, and The Old Truck, which received seven starred reviews, was named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, and received the Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award Honor. They also illustrated Jason Reynolds’s There Was a Party for Langston. Jarrett lives near Austin, Texas.

Review: This book may just be perfection. All of it–the words, the story, the inspiration, and the art.

First, we have Jason Reynolds’s verse, written with a rhythm that is screaming to be read aloud (I can’t wait for the audiobook). The story is a celebration of Hughes about a celebration of Hughes, so the love is truly emanating off the pages. And the story of Reynolds’s inspiration is just so wholesome and a snapshot into history that deserves this book.

Second, the cherry on top is the pieces of art that illustrate Reynolds’s words. The Pumphrey brothers use handmade stamps to create spreads that complete the book into the complete package that it is. I loved how they included Hughes’s words and Reynolds’s words within the art as well.

I highly recommend reading Betsy Bird’s Goodreads review because she is so much more articulate and detailed than I am about this book in all of its glory.

Tools for Navigation: This text should be combined with Hughes’s work. His words are intertwined within the book which lends directly into picking up Hughes’s work to read alongside it. Readers could also find words within the illustrations and find which of Hughes’s work it comes from and look at why that particular section would be included at that point.

Additionally, other beloved authors were introduced to the readers, not only Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka but James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, Ashley Bryan, Octavia Butler, Countee Cullen, W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Ralph Ellison, Nikki Giovanni, Alex Haley, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Richard Wright. These introductions could lend themselves to be the start of an author study, including asking why Reynolds and the Pumphreys would have chosen to include these specific authors.

Discussion Questions: 

  • Why did Langston Hughes have a party at the library?
  • What are some ways that Reynolds captured the excitement and glory of the evening with his words?
  • How did the illustrators use words in their art? What does it add to the book?
  • How did some of Hughes’s purposes relate to issues we’re still facing in America?
  • What inspired Jason Reynolds to write this book?
  • How is this picture book biography different than others?

Flagged Spreads: 

Read This If You Love: Poetry, Langston Hughes, Jason Reynolds

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Simon & Schuster’s Children’s Publishing for sharing a copy for review!**

Educators’ Guide for Last Gate of the Emperor by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen

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Last Gate of the Emperor
Authors: Kwame Mbalia & Prince Joel Makonnen
Published: May 4th, 2021 by Scholastic Press

Summary: An Afrofuturist adventure about a mythical Ethiopian empire. Sci-fi and fantasy combine in this journey to the stars.

Yared Heywat lives an isolated life in Addis Prime — a hardscrabble city with rundown tech, lots of rules, and not much to do. His worrywart Uncle Moti and bionic lioness Besa are his only family… and his only friends.

Often in trouble for his thrill-seeking antics and smart mouth, those same qualities make Yared a star player of the underground augmented reality game, The Hunt for Kaleb’s Obelisk. But when a change in the game rules prompts Yared to log in with his real name, it triggers an attack that rocks the city. In the chaos, Uncle Moti disappears.

Suddenly, all the stories Yared’s uncle told him as a young boy are coming to life, of kingdoms in the sky and city-razing monsters. And somehow Yared is at the center of them.

Together with Besa and the Ibis — a game rival turned reluctant ally — Yared must search for his uncle… and answers to his place in a forgotten, galaxy-spanning war.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions: 

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for Last Gate of the Emperor:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

Recommended For: 

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Author Guest Post: “Teaching the Next Generation about September 11th” by Jacqueline Jules, Author of Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember

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“Teaching the Next Generation about September 11th”

“What happened at the Pentagon?” one of my students asked me. “Why are they ringing that bell?”

It was September 11, 2008, seven years after the 9/11 attacks. I was an elementary school librarian in Northern Virginia. A select group of students, chosen to be my library helpers, had just walked into the library. They gathered around me, watching a wall-mounted television in the center of the room. I had turned it on earlier that morning so the staff could watch the dedication of the Pentagon Memorial on C-Span.

“Why are they reading names?” another student asked. “Did people die?”

I won’t forget the upturned faces, focused on the television screen that morning. All six of my library helpers stood silently, watching a man in a white Navy suit, wearing white gloves, pull the cord on a large golden bell. Another man read names from a podium on an outdoor stage. The solemnity of the dedication ceremony was very clear to my students. Yet they were baffled by the reason for it. I was surprised.

As residents of Northern Virginia, these students were certainly familiar with the Pentagon. Like me, they’d seen the huge five-sided building with its enormous parking lot on their way to the airport or a nearby mall. But not one of the six children in front of me knew that the Pentagon had been attacked on September 11, 2001.

I shouldn’t have been shocked. These students were only four years old in 2001 and unlikely to remember much. Not all of them had even lived in Virginia at the time of the Pentagon attack. Why should they know what happened?

A good question. As a teacher, it was something I thought about a lot. Should 9/11 be a part of our curriculum? Can we understand our present society better when we have knowledge of past events?

Today’s students may not be aware of the drastic changes in airport security since 9/11. Even more importantly, they may not be aware of the way Americans came together to help each other and rebuild after 9/11. Knowing that Americans overcame tough circumstances in the past can give students the courage to face future challenges if they arise. The history of 9/11 can demonstrate the resilience of American society. The Pentagon was rebuilt within a year. It’s a story of perseverance our students should be aware of.

My collection of narrative poems, Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember, portrays the reactions of young people who experienced September 11th  in Northern Virginia where the Pentagon is located. Kelvin, age 5, is on the swings at recess when he is frightened by a loud sound. Emily, age 13, describes her feelings as she watches her teacher holding on to his desk, visibly shaken by the news he shares with the class. Cyrus, age 10, waits for his father, a fireman responding to the Pentagon attack. Tyra, age 14, watches rubble cleared from the Pentagon while riding the bus to school.

The twenty poems in Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember could be performed as a Reader’s Theater. If the class has more than twenty students, the introduction can be divided up into extra speaking parts. Role-playing the different characters can help students understand and discuss many perspectives. Other teaching ideas for Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember can be found in the Teacher’s Guide posted on my website and at the Bushel & Peck website.

I hope you will consider discussing September 11, 2001 in your classrooms and at home. We are approaching the 22nd anniversary of the event. Today’s children will have no knowledge of this history if educators and other adults don’t introduce it.

Published August 1st, 2023 by Bushel & Peck

About the Book: A moving book of poems to remember 9/11 at the Pentagon.

On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. One hundred and eighty-four innocent people were killed. The event occurred at 9:37 a.m. and was part of a coordinated terrorist attack against the United States involving four hijacked flights.

Author Jacqueline Jules, who was a school librarian living in Arlington, Virginia on 9/11, tells the story of that day through a tapestry of poems. These poems tell the stories of young people from all aspects of the Arlington and Pentagon communities and are composites drawn from personal experiences with students and friends residing in Northern Virginia at the time of the attack.

September 11th changed childhoods. Anyone old enough to remember that day will never forget, but today’s children need to be told the story.

Download the Teacher’s Guide: http://jacquelinejules.com/images/Teacher’sGuideSMOKE%20AT%20THE%20PENTAGON.pdf

⭐”A powerful, humanistic look at the aftermath of a national tragedy, and an important purchase for modern collections.”―School Library Journal

About the Author: Jacqueline Jules is the award-winning author of over fifty books for young readers, including the Zapato Power series, the Sofia Martinez series, Unite or Die: How Thirteen Became a Nation, My Name is Hamburger, The Porridge-Pot Goblin, and Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence. A retired elementary school librarian and teacher, she has created numerous resources for her website, available to educators for free download. Please visit www.jacquelinejules.com.

Thank you, Jacqueline, for reminding us to teach about this life-changing day!

MEET THE MEGAFAUNA!: Get to Know 20 of the Largest Animals to Ever Roam the Earth by Gabrielle Balkan, Illustrated by Quang And Lien

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MEET THE MEGAFAUNA!: Get to Know the 20 Largest Animals Ever to Roam the Earth
Author: Gabrielle Balkan
Illustrator: Quang And Lien
Published: June 27, 2023 by Workman Publishing

Summary: The world’s largest animals come to life in this interactive book featuring 20 megafauna, 10 gatefolds, full-color illustrations and tons of facts!

An interactive (complete with gatefolds!), large-format exploration of megafauna, the mostly-extinct class of ginormous animals that thrived during the Pleistocene era after the extinction of the dinosaurs. Meet a giant armored armadillo, a giant sloth, and the three megafauna still found on earth today—African Bush Elephant, Masai Giraffe, and the Blue Whale.
 

Review: This book is stunning. The illustrations are captivating, and there is so much to learn. My first grader can recite more dinosaurs than anyone I know, so he was thrilled to dive into this book. For weeks, he’s been telling strangers about the megafauna. Reading this book made me feel like I was visiting a vivid museum—the gatefolds make it particularly exciting to read. I highly recommend having a copy of this one in your classroom.

Tools for Navigation: Students could research an animal in history and create their own gatefolds!

Discussion Questions: 

  • Which megafauna did you find most interesting? What did you learn?
  • How does this book add to your knowledge about history?

Flagged Spread: 

Read This If You Love: Dinosaurs, Animals, History, Cool Things 😉

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Chloe from Workman Publishing for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.**

Rivka’s Presents by Laurie Wallmark, Illustrated by Adelina Lirius

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Rivka’s Presents
Author: Laurie Wallmark
Illustrator: Adelina Lirius
Published July 11th, 2023 by Random House Studio

Summary: In this heartwarming story about the importance of community, a little Jewish girl living on the Lower East Side during the flu pandemic of 1918 can’t start school because her father is sick, so she makes a trade with her neighbors: chores for lessons.

It’s 1918 on the Lower East Side of New York City, and Rivka is excited to start school. But when her papa gets sick with the flu, her mama has to go to work at the shirtwaist factory and Rivka needs to stay home and take care of her little sister. But Rivka figures out a way to learn anyway: she trades chores with the grocer, the tailor, and an elderly neighbor for lessons. As the seasons change, Rivka finds she can count pennies for the iceman and read the labels on jars of preserve. And one day, Papa is no longer sick, and Rivka can finally start school! Full kindness and love for your neighbors, here is a story that introduces life on the Lower East Side for a Jewish family during the flu pandemic of 1918.

Praise: 

★ ”Simply told but unexpectedly moving, the narrative honors generations of immigrant families and communities that have done their best to educate their children despite language barriers and poverty.” —Booklist, starred review

“A unique book that would be a great asset to collections.” —School Library Journal

“This tale will be at home in any discussions about American immigration and young people pursuing education despite barriers, as well as those focused more specifically on Jewish immigrants in this period.” —The Bulletin

About the Creators: 

Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark writes picture book biographies of women in STEM. Her titles include Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars; Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine, which received four starred reviews and a Cook Prize Honor; Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code; Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life, a Crystal Kite Winner and Cook Prize Honor recipient; and others. Laurie has an MFA in Writing from VCFA and is a former software engineer and computer science professor. You can find Laurie online at www.lauriewallmark.com.
On Twitter: @lauriewallmark
Facebook: @lauriewallmarkauthor
Instagram: @lauriewallmark

Adelina Lirius is an illustrator based in Stockholm, Sweden. She loves painting imaginary scenes, portraying nature, and depicting the different cultures she grew up with. Adelina is the illustrator of a picture book adaptation of The Secret Garden; The Fort by Laura Perdew; and I, Too, Am Mozart by Audrey Ades, which received a starred review from School Library Journal. Visit her on Instagram @adalinaillustration.

Review: This story of resiliency shows what those hungry for learning will do to make sure they can fill their brains with the knowledge they seek. Rivka finds herself unable to go to school because her father is ill with the 1918 influenza, so she is in charge of her younger sibling. But Rivka searches for a way to help out and to learn–she does this by trading her time and chores for knowledge. Through connections with community members, she learns her letters, arithmetic, and civics. All of these teachers help build the foundation for Rivka’s education!

I loved the combination of the emotional narrative and the realistic and sweet illustrations. It, like Booklist states, is unexpectedly moving because Rivka’s story travels from the pages right into the reader’s heart.

Teaching Tools for Navigation & Discussion Questions: Utilize this author-provided curriculum guide for teaching tools and discussion questions!

Flagged Spreads: 

Read This If You Love: Historical fiction picture books, Picture books about the love of learning

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!!**

The Witness Trees: Historic Moments and the Trees Who Watched Them Happen by Ryan G. Van Cleave, Illustrated by Ððm Ððm

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The Witness Trees: Historic Moments and the Trees Who Watch Them Happen
Author: Ryan G. Van Cleave
Illustrator: Ððm Ððm
Publishing May 9th, 2023 by Bushel & Peck Books

Summary: For generations, trees have silently witnessed history’s most pivotal moments. Here are their stories.

In the sweep of wind over grass,
near the pulse of rivers,
we stand,
monuments of bark
and age-curled green.

Above, an avalanche of stars.
Below, the ocean of earth.
Within, the uncounted lives
birthed, bloomed, and plucked
from the gardens we tend.

We survive.
We remember.
We witness.

In evocative verse and stunning artwork, Witness Trees is the story of the world’s most enduring witnesses: the trees. From the Flower of Kent apple tree still standing in Sir Isaac Newton’s yard, to the English oak given to Jesse Owens after facing down Hitler at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, to the California redwood saved from destruction by July Butterfly Hill, to the Callery pear tree still miraculously alive after the World Trade Towers fell, Witness Trees is a moving tribute to the world’s most famous trees, many of which still need humanity’s protection. Be moved, be inspired, be amazed by the quiet, reverberating voices of nature’s sentinels: the witness trees.

For each tree depicted, there is information about that tree and the events it witnessed. Among the trees lovingly discussed are 20 trees you can visit today.

About the Creators:

Ryan G. Van Cleave wrote his first poem at age five, and he’s been writing, reading, and loving poetry ever since. He earned a Ph.D. in American Literature with an emphasis in poetry and has taught at numerous colleges and universities. Currently, he runs the creative writing major at Ringling College of Art and Design. As The Picture Book Whisperer, he helps celebrities and high-profile clients write picture books and kidlit projects. Visit his blog at https://www.onlypicturebooks.com/.

Ððm Ððm is an illustrator who uses his art to sow seeds of joy. He has illustrated multiple books and lives in Vietnam.

Review: This book is intriguing and beautiful. First, the verse is very well written. It is lyrical and beautiful–it will lend its self so well to reading aloud. Second, the art is superb! It is realistic, colorful, eye catching, and breathtaking! Third, the idea of this book is just so fascinating. I, obviously, knew trees had been around much longer than most of us could imagine, but to see the timeline included in the book and all of the history included within just blew my mind.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: It would be amazing to take each of the Witness Trees and let a group of students learn more about the historical event as well as the tree that witnessed it. Each group could then present to the class. (Please note that many of the events are tragic, so choose the events and students for each wisely.)

Also, at the beginning of the book, the author includes some trees that aren’t included in the book, so students could take each of these books and create their own spreads with a poem about the tree based in its history.

Discussion Questions: 

  • How does the author’s choice of verse affect the tone of the book?
  • How did the illustrators structure of putting the tree on one side of a spread and an illustration related to the history on the other side add to the history shared?
  • What makes trees so amazing? What about these trees specifically?
  • What time in history do you wonder if there is a Witness Tree for it? (Extension: Have students research and see if there is one.)

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: History, Interest in trees, Picture books in verse

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to the author for providing a copy for review!**