Do Trees Have Mothers?

Recently, there have been several books written for both adults and children about the ways in which trees are interconnected and how they communicate. This book, with its intriguing title, tries to explain these concepts to a very young audience, but, unfortunately, it misses the mark.

Nuts, a squirrel, narrates the story of how trees have mothers, just as baby animals do, and lists the many things that demonstrate trees’ maternal qualities. However, the anthropomorphism does not work well on its own. The text requires more detailed, age-appropriate explanations about how baby trees “call” to their mothers, warn them of harmful insects nearby, or how adult trees make baby trees feel better when they are sick. Otherwise, youngsters will take the facts literally and become thoroughly confused. In order to fully comprehend the concept of how a tree is like a mother to smaller trees in the forest, a child would need an adult to explain the science behind a tree’s behaviour. Though some concepts are easy to explain, such as how a tree provides shelter for animals in its branches and hollows, others are more difficult. How many adults, for example, without accessing information from some of the references listed at the back of the book or from other sources, truly understand how trees communicate and are interconnected?

The author also misses an opportunity to introduce new vocabulary to young readers. Why call the small trees “babies” throughout the book? Instead, after the initial comparison to babies, he could have referred to them as “saplings”.

Even some of the illustrations are above the heads of small children, beginning with the page which depicts a hand sparking life into a branch, a nod to Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. Other illustrations require an adult’s interpretation of how they relate to the concept. For example, the text states, “Mother trees help others by cleaning the air and water.” The accompanying illustration shows a tree absorbing polluting emissions from a car, a dump truck, an airplane and a rocket ship, and releasing oxygen. Unless an adult explains how this happens, the child will be none the wiser. A quote at the back of the book - “Trees are our ancient ancestors that have found a more peaceful way of being”- is an insightful statement, to be sure, but again, far above the heads of the target audience and geared more towards the adult who is reading with the child.

On the plus side, the charming illustrations, rendered in soothing, muted pastel shades, are perfect for the target audience, and Nuts is an adorable “character” who adds a bit of humour to the story just by virtue of the drawings. Also, the book does demonstrate to children the importance of trees and helps kids to gain an appreciation of the natural environment.

When writing a book for such a young audience, there is a fine balance between having too much information and not enough. In the case of this title, the author needs to find an age-appropriate way in which to get the main concepts across without having to rely so much on an adult’s intervention. Generally speaking, though the book’s approach is clever and its premise sound, its execution is lacking, and it somehow doesn’t reach its potential.