Carlisle, Emma. What Do You See When You Look at a Tree? Emma Carlisle, Illus. Templar, 11/2022. [40]pp. Picture Book. GRADES Preschool – 3. $18.99. 978-1-5362-2666-9. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
In this rhyming story, the reader is asked to look at trees in a new way, and to appreciate how much they do for humans, and how unique they are. For example, trees provide shade, a home for birds and other animals, wood for a violin, and food such as cherries. The striking colored-pencil-and-watercolor illustrations combine realistic trees and cartoon-like people of various ethnic groups, set onto beige backgrounds, and effectively depict what the text is saying. The final few spreads describe facts about trees, including their root systems and ways they communicate with each other.
Penny Peck—San Jose State University iSchool