The Nut That Fell from the Tree

July 1, 2020
The antiquated "House That Jack Built" gets a makeover for 21st-century readers. "This is the house where Jill plays." A light-skinned girl, wearing a magician's hat and cape, is in a treehouse atop a huge oak. The art is colorful, one-dimensional, and cartoonlike. The next double-page spread adds "This is the oak that holds the house where Jill plays" and then "This is the nut that fell from the oak that holds the house where Jill plays." The nut is, of course, an acorn. The acorn gets bounced around and pounced upon by various animals, including a rat, a blue jay, a raccoon, and more. As the text increases, so do the number of animals on each light-green page. Cleverly, every humorous line about a new animal rhymes with "rat looking out from a shoe," right through to a skunk that elicits "PEE-EW!" from the other animals. Those animals flee; text and art dramatically minimize. A shorter second stanza, beginning with "This is the sun," introduces a more contemplative mood as it links the life spans of oaks with humans. It is also less likely than the first stanza to be memorized by youngsters, as it follows a less-predictable pattern. Stanza two changes the book from a simple cumulative tale to deeper food for thought, but unfortunately, the style of art is much better suited for stanza one. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 56% of actual size.) A good, if not totally coherent, look at a tree's life cycle. (Picture book. 4-8)

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September 1, 2020

K-Gr 2-A charming addition to the genre of this-is-the-house-that-Jack-built and other cumulative tales, this is a multi-themed story about an acorn's tumultuous road to becoming a tree. It all begins with a young white girl named Jill, in a tree house. Readers learn of the many animals attempting to keep the acorn from its destiny including a rat, a blue jay, and a raccoon. The rhyming text introduces important concepts such as the circle of life and perseverance; by the end of the tale, the elderly Jill brings refreshments to the tree house where a young white boy plays. Cormier's rich color palette and whimsical illustrations leap off the page, making this a perfect picture book to read aloud. Young and old readers alike will be drawn into the artistic details. VERDICT Bhadra delivers a witty story full of humor and nuance that can be read independently, shared during story time, used in concert with lessons about the life cycle of living things, or even for a sturdy look at life's hardships.-Maegen Rose, Rye Country Day School, NY

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