Once There Was a Tree (Picture Puffin)

by Natalia Romanova

Paperback, 1992

Status

Available

Local notes

E Rom

Barcode

2314

Publication

Puffin (1992), 32 pages

Description

An old stump attracts many living creatures, even man, and when it is gone, a new tree attracts the same creatures, who need it for a variety of reasons.

Awards

Reading Rainbow Program Selection (Selection — 104 — 1994)
CCBC Choices (Picture Books — 1985)

Original language

English

Physical description

32 p.; 9.12 inches

User reviews

LibraryThing member kellyholmes
Cute story about who really owns a tree stump.
LibraryThing member icedchai
Genre: This book is a good example of realistic fiction. All of the animals presented in the book would think that the tree stump belonged to them because they were there at one point. The author then invites the reader to think critically about who really owns the tree, which is something that is
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parts of debates now.

Plot: 3 stars

Age: Primary/Intermediate
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LibraryThing member Whisper1
This is a simple tale, beautifully written by the author and beautifully illustrated by Gennady Spirin.

This is a circle of life tale. An old tree was hit by lightening, and it was split in half.

A woodsman saw the damaged tree, and he took his ax to chop it down, leaving it open for the beetles to
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lay their eggs in the stomp. the eggs became full grown beetles who flex away, leaving the tunnels open for ants to make the stump their home.

Next, a large bear sharpened her claws on the stump, leaving long, deep gashes in the wood. When a Titmouse approached, she ate a caterpillar that an ant claimed. Now, the ants belonged to the Titmouse bird. But so too did the stump belong to the frog who found a hole in with to clime into.

Later an earwig came along, and so too did a man who was walking through the woods on a stormy night.

Since it was the nature of every inhabitant to claim to stump, the author asks who really owns the stump?

And, in the end, nature belongs to all. And the cycle of life and death continues. As a new tree grows where the old tree lived.

Four stars for a beautiful story with excellent illustrations.
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Pages

32

Rating

½ (10 ratings; 3.5)
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