Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books > Our Tree

Our Tree

Please login to bookmark

Book Synopsis

A stunning celebration of tolerance, togetherness and the power of community from rising star Jessica Meserve.

Little Red is delighted when he discovers a beautiful tree, all to himself! But he soon realises he is not on his own – animals of all sizes visit the tree to enjoy its shade, nibble on its leaves and rest on its branches. Little Red doesn’t want to share; he’d rather set off to find a place of his own. But after a mildly perilous altercation with a leopard, Little Red learns the value of friends who have your back.

A gentle encouragement of the importance of sharing and acceptance with exquisite, detailed illustration that are perfect for poring over. Like Hey, Wall by Susan Verde and John Parra, Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell and Rafael López, and Leaves by Stephen Hogtun, Our Tree is a picture book to treasure.

Our Review Panel says...

When Little Red, a squirrel, finds just the right place to make his home, he isn’t exactly thrilled to share his Tree with a caterpillar, swifts or even an elephant, each of whom also finds Tree to be ideal landing spots. Tree is gentle, encouraging and welcoming, constantly reminding Little Red that there’s space for everyone. Each time Little Red says that Tree is all his, Tree says, “I’m not so sure about that! Look behind you!” As more and more animals arrive, Little Red decides that sharing has its benefits and decides to stay with his new friends.

Jessica Meserve is both author and illustrator of this engaging nature-themed picture book. All the woodland characters have individual personalities and a place in the setting. The dialogue brings the creatures into a world children will recognise while learning fun facts about some of the animals. The illustrations are bright, colourful and detailed. A book for small children to explore the ideas of sharing and caring (and counting), but in a gentle way, using animals and the tree they all live in or use.