Pistes d'exploration

If possible, read outside under a tree. Share stories your parents have told you about childhood events (birth, christening, moving, etc.).

Discuss the importance of trees in our world: how they help the environment, bring shade, reduce pollution, etc.

Through research, find out the many benefits of trees and write them on fact cards. As a bulletin display, make a large paper tree and use the fact cards (perhaps in a leaf shape) as the leaves of the tree.

Write a poem about a tree in different seasons or at different times of the day, or about the different animals that live in it.

If possible, read outside under a tree. Share stories your parents have told you about childhood events (birth, christening, moving, etc.).

Discuss the importance of trees in our world: how they help the environment, bring shade, reduce pollution, etc.

Through research, find out the many benefits of trees and write them on fact cards. As a bulletin display, make a large paper tree and use the fact cards (perhaps in a leaf shape) as the leaves of the tree.

Write a poem about a tree in different seasons or at different times of the day, or about the different animals that visit it.

Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems, The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest, If You Hold a Seed

Mots-clés

Picture book , community , conservation , environment , families , hope , pollution , trees

Commentaire descriptif

This is the evocative and poetic story of a young girl named Alice who, along with her parents and neighbours, struggles to save a dying oak tree that has been poisoned by a chemical spill. Friends and community members pitch in by hauling soil, watering the tree and protecting it from the sun, but to no avail. Sad and dismayed at losing a tree that has been at the centre of countless family memories, Alice remembers something that gives her hope for the future—the jar of acorns she collected before the tree got sick. Double-page illustrations rendered in gentle watercolour convey the important message about protecting our environment that lies behind this poignant read-aloud for older children. The story can work as an excellent tie-in with a unit on environmental issues or to initiate a discussion on cause and effect relationships. It can also serve as a way to introduce the idea of death to a child, and the value of finding a treasure that will help the memory live on.