A child delightfully observes her favorite plum tree all year: its buds and blossoms in spring, shady leaves and developing fruit in summer, ripe fruit and colorful leaves in fall, and seeing "all the way up to the top" through bare branches in winter. Voake's ink lines and watercolor washes evoke each season beautifully. Superficial botanical facts appear alongside the narrative, but this is mainly a story of sweet appreciation. Ind. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A child celebrates what they love about trees from spring through winter.In the spring, "the thing about trees that I loveis that changes begin." In summer, they "are shady and so full of leaves that when the wind blows, they swish like the sea." This upbeat, child-centered narrative is supplemented by brief, factual statements set in a smaller type. As the child looks at the blossoms on a plum tree, for instance, the small print informs readers that "bees visit the blossoms to collect nectar. Some pollen from each flower brushes onto a visiting bee, which carries it to the next flower." Voake's trees are simply glorious, rendered in her signature style of bold, black ink lines and splashy watercolor. They feel alive, from smooth-barked beeches to massive oaks. However, while their leaves are identified on the attractive endpapers, it will be up to caregivers to guess at most of the types depicted in the story. The narrator is a child with light brown skin (not consistent in hue) and straight, black hair who appears to live in an apartment building. The relationship of this substantial growth of varied trees to that building is unclear, especially as the child and their friends seem to have easy, unmediated access to it: Is it a nearby city park? Is the apartment building in a wooded area?Lovely but incomplete, both in information provided and in narrative. (index, note) (Informational picture book. 4-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

K-Gr 2-An ode to the majesty of trees, gently narrated with a sense of childlike wonder. Opening with the joyful declaration "It's spring!" the book guides readers through the four seasons and the changes that trees undergo throughout the year. There are moments when Butterworth's similes are just right: "Summer trees are shady and so full of leaves that when the wind blows, they swish like the sea." Text in a smaller font expands on information hinted at in the main narrative; for instance, how trees do the majority of their growing in early summer. Voake's illustrations, done in watercolor and ink, are well matched with Butterworth's meditative narrative. The artwork loosely follows a young child after she races out of her apartment to investigate the flora and fauna around her, sometimes accompanied by friends and other times alone with just a bird with a "sweet sticky plum." Twice in the illustrations a teepeelike structure made out of branches and twigs is shown. In the second instance, the text refers to it as a "hideout" that children can build. The stereotypes tied to this kind of imagery, particularly in the United States, cannot be ignored or dismissed and their inclusion is most disappointing. In addition, a suggestion to "use a fallen tree as a giant climbing frame" is unwise, considering the relative age of the intended audience. -VERDICT For readers curious about changes in nature, consider instead April Pulley Sayre's Best in Snow and Full of Fall.-Della Farrell, School -Library Journal © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.