In celebration of a forest giant, Tree soars in its informative and engrossing depiction of the life of a mountain ash.
Feature image credit: Allen & Unwin
From tiny seed to 300-year-old giant standing tall above the canopy, the tree protects and sustains generations of flora and fauna as it grows, and grows, and grows. A new book from two of Australia’s most accomplished authors and illustrators ventures from undergrowth to uppermost branches to reveal the interdependence that our wilderness relies upon.
Between them, Claire Saxby and Jess Racklyeft have accumulated an impressive collection of accolades for their work. Iceberg, their previous collaboration, was awarded 2022 CBCA Picture Book of Year. Saxby’s writing has won the NSW Premier’s Literary Award, a SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, and an Environment Award for Children’s Literature, amongst others. Racklyeft’s artwork has earned a CBCA Eve Pownall Honour Award, the Victorian Premier’s Prize, and the NSW Premier’s Prize, to name a few. Their talents are perfectly paired once again in Tree.
The book’s glossy pages are awash with colour. The subject – a majestic mountain ash – and its surrounds are captured using watercolour, acrylic painting, collage, pencil, ink, and digital illustration in images that lead us deep into the landscape. A fold-out page emphasises that this mighty ash is “the tallest in this forest of tall trees.”
From the opening pages, Saxby’s poetic text draws us into the magic of the natural world. The tree, “older than those who find it, younger than the land it grows from,” reveals itself as vital to the ecosystem that embraces it. We learn about the connections and communities deep underground as we follow the path of roots spreading through soil teaming with insects and animals. On the forest floor, a multitude of creatures scratch, burrow, and scurry as they search for food and go about their business. In high hollows, possums sleep while rosellas pick insects from leaves and yellow-bellied gliders evade an owl on the hunt.
This web of activity changes throughout the course of the day, and we’re witness to the vibrancy and diversity of life within and around the tree. This is also highlighted in a final reminder of the interconnectedness of each element of the natural world and the importance of protecting these grand old-growth heroes. This glorious book, with its evocative descriptions and multilayered illustrations, will inspire young readers to use all of their senses to explore the environment around them.
Reviewed by Jo Vabolis
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Allen & Unwin
Released: April 2024
RRP: $24.99

More News
