One Small Place in a Tree

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.

Barbara Brenner's curiosity about the world ranges far and wide. Her interests are reflected in the wide scope of her quality fiction and nonfiction. Some of her best-selling titles include Wagon Wheels and Voices: Poetry and Art from Around the World, which was an ALA Notable Book for Children and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. One Small Place in a Tree is a companion book to the striking One Small Place by the Sea. Barbara Brenner lives with her husband, artist Fred Brenner, in Hawley, Pennsylvania.

Tom Leonard's scientific folk-art style and fantastic perspectives have been influenced by Albert Lamorisse, Wilson McLean, and Chris Van Allsburg. In his illustrations for Madeleine Dunphy's Here is the African Savanna and Margaret Wise Brown's Under the Sun and the Moon, the vivid colors of the natural world nearly leap off the page. A graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art, Tom Leonard lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.