Apple and Magnolia

Starred review from January 1, 2022

PreS-Gr 2-The striking cover art of the night sky, bright and alive, putting two trees into stark silhouette lures readers into this stunning book. Britta loves these trees and has decided they are friends, and that the trees help one another. Dad and her annoying sister, Bronwyn, tell her she's wrong. But Nana tells Britta that friendships can be unusual and sometimes they are the most powerful of all. Buoyed by her idea, Britta devises a plan to help these two tree friends, Apple and Magnolia, connect to one another even more when Magnolia begins to look poorly. With string and cups as a "telephone," she hopes the trees can talk to one another, and with a long, shared scarf wrapped around them, they will each benefit from the others' warmth. As time passes, Britta swears that the trees have grown closer to one another. Nana suggests that Britta measure and chart the distance between them each morning and, over time, the distances shrink. There are naysayers, but the numbers don't lie. Beautifully told and illustrated, this book is a gem on many levels. The relationship with wise Nana illustrates the importance of intergenerational stories; Britta's determination shows how strong girls can be, and it shows that we all have an impact on the natural world. VERDICT Pair with Lita Judge's recent The Wisdom of Trees: How Trees Work Together to Form a Natural Kingdom and let the children brainstorm how Apple and Magnolia may have relied on one another.-Joan Kindig

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2021
With support from Nana, Britta sets out to help one of her favorite trees heal. Britta is a capable, vivacious girl who insists that her two favorite trees--Apple and Magnolia--are best friends. Exuberant artwork with vigorous brush strokes depicts brown-skinned, curly-haired Britta smiling up at her arboreal friends in the daytime and dancing near them as they sway at night. When Magnolia's branches begin to droop, irresistible Britta, flanked by her pets, brainstorms ways to help Magnolia connect with Apple, measuring the distance between the trees as the months progress: She creates a cup-and-string telephone, knits an enormous scarf, and hangs a string of lights, all in a determined attempt to connect the two trees. Britta's light-skinned, bespectacled Dad and her dark-skinned, plugged-in older sister, Bronwyn, are skeptical of Britta's efforts. In an effective use of repetition, her father "nicely" rejects Britta's ideas, and Bronwyn pooh-poohs everything with the qualifiers absolutely, positively. Wise, dark-skinned Nana encourages Britta by sharing wisdom, prompting ideas with questions, and joining in her tree-healing campaign. As the author's note mentions, cutting-edge science underlies this seemingly whimsical story, and observant readers will notice that Britta's observations, measurements, and data-keeping capture the scientific method in action. Nana's assertions about the power of "unusual friendships" encourage readers to consider this heartwarming tale in both literal and figurative ways. What's not to love about this endearing and effervescent picture book? (Picture book. 3-6)

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