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This informational picture book is the life of an oak tree spanning 200 plus years. The detailed gouache and pencil illustrations wonderfully depict the long life of this tree and how the world changes around it. Teachers will like to have this title and use it for history, timelines, and life cycles of trees. Some facts about oak trees are included on the last page.
Anyone who has ever paused to wonder what their neighborhoods may have looked like through the years, will be fascinated by this awesome picture book. The book shows the 200 year life of an oak tree, and the gorgeous illustrations show those changes through the years. With each turn of a page, readers find themselves looking back and forth through the pages to note the changes and the things that have remained the same. This could generate some terrific discussions about changes through time and...
One oak tree grows for centuries, silent witness to all the changes occurring around it.Karas's Grandma Moses-like paintings are a nice accompaniment to the story.
A unique look at the passage of time as an oak tree grows to maturity. Covering 200 years of time, the landscape around the tree changes drastically until Mother Nature strikes and the tree is removed.Gouache and pencil artwork is detailed and invites many re-readings. This is a picture book with a timeless quality that would make a nice addition to a home library for PreK-2.
As an Oak Tree grows by G. Brian Karas shows and tells the story of an oak tree from acorn to over 200 years later. The book also shows the generations of people coming and going, the change of weather, seasons, the surrounding land, housing, inventions in methods of transportation, communication, electricity, and more. There's also a timeline at the bottom that follows the progress. Great big concepts but simple enough to discuss with my 3 and 5 year old. It's an amazing book with so many detai...
After a stunning and offensive misstep on the first few pages - the Native child who plants the oak tree "grows up and moves away" so that white settlers can move in around his oak tree - this turns into an interesting look at the lifespan of an oak tree. I don't know how I would share this book - read those pages, then stop to explain the misinformation? Skip those pages altogether and start with the 25 year old tree a few pages later, missing the genesis of its life cycle? The book's overall c...
The illustrations, words, and timeline are very well combined. The enclosed poster showing how this tree grew and how this tree's lifetime saw so many changes just tops off the packaging to make this a valuable picture book for school and public libraries. I'd call it an informational text.
I was intrigued by the creative concept of this book, and the illustrations are beautiful, but I have a major issue with the historical aspect of it. Without explicitly stating that the boy at the start who plants the seed is a Native American, the illustrations with a wigwam and ships in the distance make clear that it is. Then, 25 years later, farmers are living on the land and the author writes that "The boy grew up and moved away." And that's where I had an issue. We all know the reality wou...
Shows 200+ years in the life of an oak tree, as the tree grows and the world around it changes. Includes poster. As an Oak Tree Grows is a great way to help students develop an appreciation for nature, and to see how the world's landscape has been altered over time. While the ending is bittersweet, it will likely leave sensitive students with plenty to contemplate. May be especially powerful when used in a lesson on Earth Day, Arbor Day, or some similar occasion.
This book has so much to offer! It opened up lots of discussions with my 4yo about how an acorn grows into a tree, the different seasons, how a land is developed over time, intro to timelines, plus all the little details in the pictures to look at and discuss. My 9yo was across the table listening and jumped in the conversation and we discussed migration, drought, and tree rings (age/weather patterns).
I love this one. It's the tree version of The Little House. Part life cycle and part history lesson.
This book was very disappointing. It portrayed history in a way that "excused" our mistakes. For example, the author wrote that the native american boy "moved away", when we know that native Americans were kicked off of their own land, and even killed. The characters in the book were predominantly white, and as the story progressed, it continued to excuse white people's historical mistakes. It deeply disappointed me to see that more children would grow up to believe the stupid lies and excuses s...
A must for every elementary classroom, this book is a perfect gift for those who love nature as well. From 1775 to 2000 we view the life span of one mighty oak tree as the world around it changes almost beyond recognition. Text and a timeline help children understand history in a unique way. Includes a sturdy poster with reproducible activities.
Two centuries of history surrounding an oak tree although the earliest historical events depicted seem dubious at best.
I wasn't going to write a review but then I saw all the 1 & 2 star ratings from people offended by the very first page: A little boy plants an acorn on a nice, warm day a long time ago. He's near a forest by the sea. The boy is Native American and out in the distance at sea are ships. After the acorn is planted, you turn the page and find out time has passed. The landscape has changed, the tree has grown significantly, and the story states all this along with "the boy grew up and moved away." Th...
I love the layers to this book. On the surface it's about the life of an oak tree. But for slightly older children, it's a history lesson. The tree is planted by a Native American boy in 1775. From there, the reader sees a forest become a village and a village become a town. The older child can also follow along with the years at the bottom of the page to get the full scope of how long it took that big ol' tree in their front yard to get that huge!
An imaginative and engaging picture book showing the entire life cycle of an oak tree, from the tiny seedling planted at the beginning through the 200 years of its life, and onwards. Each spread is drawn from the same view, and dated with the year, so you can watch the houses and boats growing, spreading, changing; people farming and driving horses; trains, coal/steam boats and cars appearing, and clothing changing. It's full of fascinating details. We could probably read this 3-4 times and stil...
Wow. So much controversy over a story about a TREE! The whole point here, to my way of seeing, is that the tree simply observes. It does not judge. It doesn't see the politics and it doesn't judge right and wrong. As readers, we may choose to tell our children more about the stories the tree observes, but the tree doesn't understand. It just...is. And this is a beautiful tale, filled with change and sorrow and hope. Highly recommended, but discussing the controversial elements with children is p...
A teacher pointed me to AS AN OAK TREE GROWS. It is encouraging to know that teachers are noticing glaring problems with books like this. Tribe-less Native people who "grow up and move away" is a disservice to history! A close look at the first three pages of the book is here:http://americanindiansinchildrenslite...
Beautiful story about the life of an oak tree. Each new set of pages follows the book 25 years later. The background city changes along with the tree. The illustrations are gorgeous! This would be perfect for an older (preschool age) storytime about trees or nature!