One Small Place in a Tree
Barbara Brenner, Tom LeonardBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Deep in the forest . . .
A bear sharpens her claws on a tree trunk. The scratched bark chips; a tiny hole forms. Timber beetles tunnel inside. The hole grows bigger and bigger.
In lyrical prose, Barbara Brenner reveals the fascinating happenings in one small place. She explains how, over many years, the rough hole transforms into a cozy hollow — home to salamanders, tree frogs, a family of white-footed mice. Tom Leonard’s absorbing illustrations take you beneath the bark to a hidden world. His warm, lifelike depictions of squirrels and bluebirds, snakes and spiders show the splendor that dwells in the most unexpected places.
So stop. Observe. Explore your natural world. If you look closely enough, you will surely find . . . one small place that is home for something.
A child visitor observes as one tiny scratch in a tree develops into a home for a variety of woodland animals over many years, even after the tree has fallen.
Synopsis
Deep in the forest . . .
A bear sharpens her claws on a tree trunk. The scratched bark chips; a tiny hole forms. Timber beetles tunnel inside. The hole grows bigger and bigger.
In lyrical prose, Barbara Brenner reveals the fascinating happenings in one small place. She explains how, over many years, the rough hole transforms into a cozy hollow — home to salamanders, tree frogs, a family of white-footed mice. Tom Leonard’s absorbing illustrations take you beneath the bark to a hidden world. His warm, lifelike depictions of squirrels and bluebirds, snakes and spiders show the splendor that dwells in the most unexpected places.
So stop. Observe. Explore your natural world. If you look closely enough, you will surely find . . . one small place that is home for something.
Publishers Weekly
Two new titles by Barbara Brenner, illus. by Tom Leonard, examine tiny animal habitations. One Small Place in a Tree demonstrates how different animals slowly create a hole in a tree (a bear uses the bark as a scratching post; timber beetles "set up housekeeping" in the layer below, etc.); even as the tree dies, it is host to birds and bacteria and later squirrels, salamanders and spiders. One Small Place by the Sea shows how life flourishes in small tide pools, as anemones, sea stars and other creatures feed on plankton and each other in an ever-changing coastal ecosystem. Leonard renders his realistic, full-bleed illustrations both scientifically and dramatically. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Two new titles by Barbara Brenner, illus. by Tom Leonard, examine tiny animal habitations. One Small Place in a Tree demonstrates how different animals slowly create a hole in a tree (a bear uses the bark as a scratching post; timber beetles "set up housekeeping" in the layer below, etc.); even as the tree dies, it is host to birds and bacteria and later squirrels, salamanders and spiders. One Small Place by the Sea shows how life flourishes in small tide pools, as anemones, sea stars and other creatures feed on plankton and each other in an ever-changing coastal ecosystem. Leonard renders his realistic, full-bleed illustrations both scientifically and dramatically. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
As a description of the lifecycle of an ecosystem, this book traces the way decay and rot in a tree produces a host for many other life forms. Leonard's precise paintings of the forest world and Brenner's straightforward text show what you might see while walking by this same tree in the forest over about a decade's time. A black bear's scratching provides a small enough wound that timber beetles settle and start the cycle of decay. Next come red-bellied woodpeckers and other birds to eat the beetles and larvae, then come bacteria, and a small hollow, which is used by such animals as a flying squirrel, nesting bluebirds, mice, and even a tree frog. When the tree finally falls, the hole hosts a garter snake and a red-backed salamander. In addition to using the specific specie, not the generic, Brenner chooses her words carefully so that a young naturalist can observe the interrelationship, much as she did for One Small Place by the Sea (2004) and Brenda Guiberson has done for the saguaro in Cactus Hotel (Holt, 1991). It is a fine addition to the book shelf. 2003, HarperCollins, Ages 4 to 8.—Susan Hepler, Ph.D.