Have You Seen Trees?

Oppenheim, Joanne; Tseng, Jean

ISBN 10: 0590466917 ISBN 13: 9780590466912

Publisher: Scholastic, 1995

Synopsis

Illustrations and rhyming text introduce the characteristics of common trees

About this title

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2?Oppenheim's arboreal ode, first published in 1967 (Addison-Wesley), is re-illustrated here with sweeping spreads of seasonal trees. The delightful dance of her words and her inclusion of humor ("No dogs in the dogwood. Nor cotton in the cottonwood...") make it a perfect story time selection. The Tsengs use small children or animals in each picture to highlight the scale of their subjects. Their watercolors capture the unique light of each season, giving every page a fresh feeling. The final line of the poem faces the first of four informational pages, written with young listeners in mind. A white background provides the contrast for the tree identifications, each of which includes a full view of the tree, a leaf closeup, and one memorable characteristic. Use with Kimberly Knutson's Ska-Tat! (Macmillan, 1993) and Patricia Lauber's Be a Friend to Trees (HarperCollins, 1994) for a grand celebration of these awe-inspiring plants.?Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Vibrant watercolors impart new luster to this poem first published nearly 30 years ago and still humming with life. "Have you seen summer trees?/ Shade-me-from-the-light trees./ Whisper-in-the-night trees"-Oppenheim's exuberant interrogatories all but demand that readers not only see trees but also touch them, listen to them, sit under them and taste their fruit; in sum, experience them with a full range of senses, in all seasons and all climes. The delicate brush strokes and glowing colors of the Tsengs' (The Seven Chinese Brothers; The Ghost Fox) illustrations celebrate trees in all their varied glory, from the sun-drenched yellows and greens of fresh buds to the flame reds of autumn maples, to the brittle, icy blues and whites of winter-coated branches. The artwork captures a range of moods as well: children jump in a pile of raked leaves, laze under summer willows and gather 'round the campfire, a glowing circle of light beneath a star-speckled sky. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5-8. Oppenheim uses a strong, simple, appealing rhythm in this poem about all kinds of trees, originally published in 1967. "Have you seen trees? / High trees, wide trees, reaching to the sky trees. / Do you ever hide behind a high, wide tree?" Revolving her theme around the seasons, Oppenheim employs immediacy and repetition to describe such arboreal elements as fruit and berries, wood and bark, and birds and bugs. The watercolor paintings--new to the revision--show human figures that are awkwardly drawn. However, the double-page spreads also contain bright colors, interesting perspectives, and some good-looking trees. The three-page field guide includes small pictures that identify those branching trees featured in the main portion of the book, close-ups of needles and leaves, and capsule descriptions. This exuberant offering should satisfy the demands of primary-grade teachers and their students during both harvest and seed time. Julie Corsaro

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0590466917
• ISBN 13: 9780590466912
• Binding: Library Binding
• Illustrator: Tseng Mou-Sien, Tseng Jean
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 1