There’s always something truly magical about finding a tree that’s so enormous you have no hope of putting your arms around it – you know that it has stood on that same spot for hundreds and hundreds of years regardless of the changes which have gone on around it. I always wonder just what it’s seen as the centuries tick by, who’s sat in its shade and swung from its branches.

This beautifully illustrated non-fiction picture book tells the tale of the life of a tree, from tiny acorn to majestic oak, and answers some of the questions I have about what monumental shifts in agriculture & industry such a tree might have seen.

‘Told in gentle rhyming verse, this beautiful non-fiction picture book follows the story of an oak tree on a hilltop as it witnesses life changing around it over the course of hundreds of years. From the time when hunters chased deer through the woodland, to when trees were cleared for farmland, to the smog and factories emerging during the industrial revolution. One majestic oak has seen it all, and now we can too.

Accompanying pages at the end of the book include a timeline of events in world history across the periods featured in the poem, the life cycle of an oak tree, and prompts to help parents and children explore their own local history.’

This is such a fascinating book with rich illustrations to explore and delight over. I can see this title not only being read in the home but also being used as a fantastic resource for exploring historical changes over time or perhaps as the stimulus for a local history project in a school.

Whilst reading, I was also reminded of some vivid childhood memories of climbing on and playing in a wonderful ancient oak tree in my best friend’s garden. Such special times and memories!

A special and timeless book for readers aged 4+

Library Girl.

*Many thanks to Welbeck Publishing for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour*