{"id":5321,"date":"2021-04-13T06:56:44","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T12:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5321"},"modified":"2021-04-13T06:56:44","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T12:56:44","slug":"getting-arboreal-before-breakfast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5321","title":{"rendered":"Getting Arboreal Before Breakfast"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>
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“Let your roots curl,
coil in the soil to ground you.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nAuthor Maria Gianferrari<\/a><\/strong> and illustrator Felicita Sala<\/a><\/strong> would have you be a tree \u2014 and have some compelling reasons for you doing so. Be a Tree!<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Abrams) is on shelves now. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“Be a tree!” the book opens. “Stand tall. Stretch your branches to the sun.” (You can see this spread below.) On nearly every one of these full-bleed spreads, bursting forth with life, we see a different tree \u2014 and children near it. Gianferrari suggests \u2014 enthusiastically and in a direct second-person voice \u2014 that we humans are much like trees. Our skin is bark, and beneath that are “layers, such as sapwood, carrying nutrients ….” (Here, we see a felled tree on its side and its many rings.) The language is lyrical and flows like poetry: “High above, your crown may be round, weeping pyramidal broad.” Seamlessly, Gianferrari presents a series of metaphors, connecting trees and humans. <\/p>\n

About midway through, the book suggests we look around, reminding us we are “one of many trees.” Like trees, we share resources and need to work together. A dramatic double gatefold even reminds us that “immigrant trees, away from their native habitat, are vulnerable.” Before we open the gatefold, we see a man, head down and a sack by his side, sitting alone on a park bench. We open it to read that “together, a forest of trees is strong.” And we see a sprawling park scene where a truly inclusive group of families play and picnic \u2014 and the man has been joined by his family. <\/p>\n

Sala plays effectively with perspective in many spreads: In one, we look up from the ground at a circle of trees, sunlight streaming through the leaves. In another (pictured above), we see underneath where a tree’s trunk meets the ground, taking in a network of roots. These expansive, beautifully wielded illustrations feature sure, graceful lines and a palette rich with appealing shades of green, deep brown earth tones, and warm blues for sky and water. <\/p>\n

The book’s backmatter is impressive. It all closes with an author’s note, in which Gianferrari pays tribute to Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees<\/a><\/strong><\/em>; lists for how to help save trees and how to “help in your community”; a spread showing the anatomy of a tree; a list for further reading and viewing; and a list of websites for children about trees and forests. Oh! And the endpapers? Worth the price of admission alone. <\/p>\n

Here are some spreads …
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\n<\/a>
\n

“Be a tree! Stand tall. Stretch your branches to the sun.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
\n
 

\n<\/a>
\n
“Your spine is a trunk, giving you shape,
holding your crown, channeling your food.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
\n
 

\n<\/a>
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“A family, a community, a country, a cosmos.
There is enough for all.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
\n
 

\n<\/a>
\n
“So, be a tree. For together,
we are a forest.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
\n
 

\n<\/a>
\n
(Click cover to enlarge)<\/em><\/center>
\n
 

\n
* * * * * * *<\/center><\/p>\n

BE A TREE! Copyright \u00a9 2021 Maria Gianferrari. Illustrations \u00a9 2021 by Felicita Sala and reproduced by permission of the publisher, Abrams Books for Young Readers, New York.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Let your roots curl,coil in the soil to ground you.”(Click spread to enlarge)   Author Maria Gianferrari and illustrator Felicita Sala would have you be a tree \u2014 and have some compelling reasons for you doing so. Be a Tree! (Abrams) is on shelves now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}