Young readers who already count trees (and flowers, and animals) as friends will treasure Leave the Trees, Please. And those who haven’t yet befriended an oak, elm or willow are sure to be inspired by this moving, gorgeous ode to the trees so vital to life on Earth.
As the author, the late British poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah (also known for his role on Peaky Blinders), points out in rhyming, lyrical text, trees are homes for animals and give us oxygen: They “work with the breeze to put all living things at ease. So, leave the trees, please.” Melissa Castrillon’s beautiful, swirling illustrations are rendered in vibrant greens and warm shades of red. They are rich with detail, depicting a strikingly lush forest in which animals, birds, insects, plants and flowers happily coexist with people of all ages.
And every creature is drawn to the massive, regal 1,500-year-old tree that presides over the area from a hill up above. When interlopers arrive with a bulldozer, can the community work together to protect the tree as it has protected them? Detailed back matter educates readers about photosynthesis and climate change. Leave the Trees, Please celebrates our leafy compatriots by showing us that “Every day is Earth Day.”
