Selznick, Brian. Big Tree.
Brian Selznick, Illus.
Scholastic Press, 04/2023. 528pp. Fiction.
Trade $32.99. 978-1-338-18063-3.
GRADES 3 – 8. OUTSTANDING.
Caldecott winner Selznick returns with another illustrated novel to tell a story that can be experienced a
couple of ways. Without reading the back matter first, the reader is taken on an epic and often
humorous adventure of two orphaned brother and sister sycamore seedlings who have lost their
mother due to a forest fire and must find their own home to lay down roots. Readers see the world from
the the seedlings’ limited perspectives. The Afterword, which describes the cutting-edge science behind
each personified character and the Cretaceous-era setting, turns the story into a parable or allegory
about how all life forms are interdependent with each other for survival. The nearly 300 pages of pencil-
on-watercolor˗paper illustrations provide b&w soft-focus visuals that range in perspective from single-
celled organisms to outer space, and intersperse with the text to continue the storyline. The story is full of heart and love, and ends with hope as the Old One (Earth) explains how she will go on, but all living beings have roles to play in protecting life on earth.
Cindy Gullikson—Joaquin Miller School, Oakland Unified School District