Celebrate Trees!

Posted by Alana T.


The trees in my yard are suffering through the drought and I've spoken with a few library patrons who've mentioned their trees are drooping too.  We usually don't think much about trees until they do something we don't like (drop branches, or too many leaves, or prickly seeds), but they have complex lives.  Choose one of the books below and think positive thoughts for our beleaguered friends.

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.” Kalil Gibram, Sand and Foam


Seeing Trees: Discover the Extraordinary Secrets of Everyday Trees by Nancy Ross Hugo and Robert Llewellyn.  The author takes a close-up view of common trees to help us appreciate the uncommon beauty of plants - she suggests we all look as carefully at trees and their behavior as we do for birds.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein.  Who can forget the ents? 


Forest Trees of Illinois by Robert Mohlenbrock.  If you hike the trails (or even just walk through the neighborhood) and want to know "what tree is that"?, this is the book to help.




The Orchard: A Memoir by Theresa Weir.  A city girl moves to the country and learns the ups and downs of modern commercial fruit growing.

Fruit Trees in Small Spaces: Abundant Harvests From Your Own Backyard by Colby Eierman.  Learn which fruit trees to plant in your yard to give years of edibles.

The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed by John Valliant.  This one of those stories to convince you that truth is stranger than fiction.  A sacred golden-colored Sitka spruce is destroyed by a former logger and then he disappears.


 The Lorax by Dr Seuss.  Ecology and love of natural beauty told with rhymes and colorful pictures - a favorite childhood classic.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.  A poignant story of a generous tree and boy she loves.

Trees: National Champions by Barbara Bosworth (photographs), Roger Conover (forward) and Douglas R. Nickel and John R. Stilgoe (essays).   Amazing photographs of the "champion trees" of America - trees that are the largest of their kind.  The author travels throughout the country to visit these amazing, old plants and tell their stories.