JUST ONE OAK: A Nonfiction Treasure

An oak tree is a world unto itself. 

Although it isn't. 

A mature oak is interconnected with everything else, from the animals who use it as residence or food source or more, to the carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange that is so essential to every other life form, including us, to the microbial and fungal lives interacting underground. From the simplicity of  "I think that I shall never see... a poem lovely as a tree" to the nearly overwhelming complexity of that one tree could be a jarring journey if not treated masterfully.

Mastery is exactly what happens in JUST ONE OAK: What a Single Tree Can Be.

BEACHLANE BOOKS, 2026

It is written by Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by Diana Sudyka. The magnificence of the oak in this story plays the role of honoring all oaks. That parallels the magnificence of this nonfiction picture book with contents of such an extensive topic but such a poetic presence. The facts about this symbolic tree are specific and important, graceful and inspiring. The illustrations have a similarly expansive blend of beauty and details. 

This impressive treatment of a seemingly familiar but bottomless topic is managed by combining the main text in larger, friendly font, with smaller text shadowing the creatures and structures within the image, while more small print appeared in informational insets on various spreads. 

This approach offers a range of science and nature facts with a magical realism that makes the content understandable and intriguing. Shifting perspectives from close-up to distant, from above ground to underground, from leaf to trunk, readers remain focused on that OAK, but in fresh and informative ways. The illustrations allow younger readers to recognize and connect with other picture books about trees and woods and animals, but  the sidebars and image labels invite further reading or returns to these pages over and over. 

Back matter provides resources, additional detailed content, and diagrams. There, too, I admired the masterful decisions about what to remove from the main text, what to include in the expanded materials. This is a great example of a picture book that offers something for everyone at every age, while never losing the celebratory awe conveyed in learning more about ONE OAK TREE.

The first home I owned was built at the edge of an oak wood. I moved in during the winter and welcomed the coming of spring. Because the oaks were now my neighbors, I longed to see them leaf out and show new life. Instead, those oaks were the last of all the plants in the woodland to show any indicators of greenery. I feared that the woods were dead, that a strong storm would bring them crashing down on my new roof. 

Eventually, though, I saw that patience pays off, and the noble oaks were verdant and vibrant, that the related lives shown in this picture book abounded among my oak neighbors, and that those oaks would outlast me and my house. My respect for and love of oak trees and all that they foster in our natural world exploded, and continues to grow. This book allows readers to share that experience and respect. 

TUMBLE: A Delightful Desert Excursion

Here's a Sunday delight for anyone who loves the desert, or even for those  (like me), who had no connection to desert life until I read the picture books of Byrd Baylor, poet of the desert. Her love of and connection with desert life, including the geologic life, offered me vicarious visits and instilled my deeply felt interest in this unique habitat and its residents. 

ORCHARD BOOKS, 2023

Perhaps that's why this recently released informational picture book appealed to me so much. TUMBLE is written and illustrated by Adriana Hernandez Bergstrom. There is minimal rhymed text, usually two-word sentences on each double spread (36 words in all!). This easy-to-read and equally easy to chime-in-on language will entice even youngest audiences but also enchant older readers. There will be recognition and smiles from those who know and appreciate this environment and it will surely gain new fans and curious visitors to such places, even among distant city dwelling kids.

Tumbleweeds are ubiquitous in deserts and also in media depicting those regions, as well as being symbolic in literary references. Here, instead of being an unimportant backdrop item, a single tumbleweed takes center stage. It is not anthropomorphized or characterized, simply named TUMBLE, and portrayed in its natural life cycle. Even so, I was rooting for it, noting its hurdles and celebrating its successes.

In this case, the main text and charmingly authentic spreads show the life cycle of a tumbleweed and provide a visual nod to surrounding creatures and foliage. TUMBLE's capacity to survive (as a species) is reinforced by the story itself, demonstrating its adaptations to harshest conditions, durability to make reproduction possible, and capacity to spread that life cycle miles beyond its place of original growth. Simple back matter reveals a diagram of tumbleweed life cycle, a scale image of  actual seed size, and inset images of each creature included in main spreads to name it and provide a "Can you find it?" challenge. The appeal of this informative, entertaining, almost song-life text and its desert-palette images is undeniable and worthy of attention from anyone, any age. 

Take a literary trip to meet TUMBLE on its own turf!

Check out a prior post about books that celebrate simple things in seemingly austere settings, including one of my favorite Baylor titles. HERE. You can find other works by Bergstrom HERE.