With George in a wagon, the two friends explore Lilyโs street, greeting neighbors who are happy to sit in Georgeโs shade. It turns out heโs the only tree on the street! Soon Lilyโs friends want trees of their own. And together they become a small forest that travels from one end of the city to the other. Once word gets around, more people join inโwith plants and flowers, chairs and picnic blankets, books and instruments.
This uplifting new picture book by Marie-Louise Gay is inspired by a project by the landscape artist Bruno Doedens and the late Joop Mulder called Bosk (meaning โforestโ) in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden. It reminds us thatโif we dare to imagine itโwe can change the world, one tree at a time.
Key Text Features
dialogue
illustrations
author's note
gatefold
Correlates to the Common Core States Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
MARIE-LOUISE GAY is an internationally acclaimed children's book creator whose work has been translated into more than 20 languages. She has won many awards including two Governor Generalโs Literary Awards, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Childrenโs Literature, the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Picture Book Award. She has also been nominated for the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Award. She lives in Montreal, Quebec.