Book Title: And the Trees Talked Back by Frederick J. Burns
Category: Children's Fiction (ages 3 to 7), 48 pages
Genre: Children's Book
Publisher: Frederick J. Burns
Release date: Nov 4, 2023
Content Rating: G. Suitable for everyone.
Meet Amanda, an extraordinary child with a unique gift — she can talk to trees.
Living in a quaint village with a mystical forest, Amanda's life takes an enchanting turn when she seeks out her inquisitive cat, Daisy. As the sun sets and the moonlight casts its glow, the duo embark on a thrilling night-time adventure.
As Amanda encounters ancient trees, she uncovers a world she never knew existed, where wisdom and acceptance coexist with fear and hatred. Amidst the rustling leaves and haunting shadows, she confronts the duality of nature, discovering the true meaning of good and evil. Her bonds with nature deepen and she learns to navigate the world where choices shape destinies.
And The Trees Talked Back is a heartwarming tale of wonder, friendship, and self-discover that will captivate readers of all ages.
Review: This is a lovely story of a little
girl named Amanda and the things she notices around her. The prose had a poetic
lilt, which was a nice touch.
The black-and-white sketches were just gorgeous! What I liked best was the playful way the images interacted with the text. For instance, when Amanda is looking for her kitten, Daisy, she uses a flashlight to flash an area of white space onto the black text. Very creative and a wonderful way to naturally draw the reader’s eye. There’s a great level of contrast in the text, which again engages and directs the reader.
All this led to a talking tree.
Amanda never knew that trees could talk. The whole thing was like something out
of Alice in Wonderland. It was quite fascinating, especially when the trees
provide insight and perspective.
“And remember, we create the very air humans breathe. They could not live without us.
We hold the land together with our roots. We provide shade with our leaves. But they cut us down to burn us for warmth, to make us into objects for their use, or to uproot us if we stand in their way.”
In “And the Trees Talked Back,” a
little girl learns from the wise oaks and makes new friends. But then Amanda
learns that not every tree wants to be her friend. How can she convince this
tree that not all humans are terrible?
A sweet and quick story for early readers.
Rating: 4 stars
Burns, always an artist on the inside, breaks through his trial attorney exterior at age 63, to write and illustrate his first children’s book, AND THE TREES TALKED BACK. Three years in the making, Burns strives to convey a world where commonalities are more important than differences, where empathy is more important than distain and where making friends is more important than creating enemies. With no formal art training, Burns enjoys working in and learning new mediums and styles. His art has won awards in juried competitions, been displayed on billboards, in government offices, the D’Amour Museum of Fine Art, and now graces the cover of Dave Brinnel's second CD, ALONE. His detailed illustrations of trees using pen and ink with washes of watercolor have been compared to the fantastical illustrations of Arthur Rackham and Maurice Sendak. Burns lives in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts with his wife, Heather and two dogs, where he is developing ideas for his next book.
connect with author: website ~ instagram ~ goodreads
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