Branching Out: How Trees Are Part of Our World

Trees have been around for nearly 400 million years, and today about 25,000 species of trees have been identified. We’ve relied on trees for everything from fuel, food, and medicine to building houses and railways. Today, trees still touch our lives in countless ways. But what do we really know about them?

Branching Out takes an in-depth look at these incredible plants, introducing the basics of tree biology and profiling 11 different trees from around the world, including familiar ones such as the Red Maple and lesser-known trees like the Tall-Stilted Mangrove. Showcasing the inextricable ways in which trees are part of our society, culture, and economy, this illustrated volume also outlines how animals need trees and how, sometimes, they even help trees survive through symbiosis. Full of useful facts and with a section on conservation, Branching Out is an essential primer that will leave young readers wanting to treat trees as well as they have treated us.

Grade: 5
Fountas & Pinnel: V
Lexile Measure: NC 1200L
Common Core State Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4,4a,4c,6
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.5.3,3a,4,4a,4c
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2,2a,2b,2b,2d,2e,4,7,9,10

The author of ten books, including the best-selling and award winning Dot to Dot in the Sky series, Joan Marie Galat uses her background in biological sciences and ecology to write on topics relating to natural history. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta. Illustrator and graphic designer Wendy Ding specializes is digital illustration in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. She lives in Toronto.