The Horn Book Guide

YOUNGER FICTION

Alexander, Sue

Behold the Trees

48 pp. | Scholastic/Levine | March, 2001 | Trade ISBN 0-590-76211-7 $$16.95

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Leonid Gore. A paean to the trees of Israel, this book briefly treats eleven historical periods, from 2100 B.C.E. to the present. Each division includes the events of the period and notes the status of trees during that time, from early abundance, through logged-out WWI, to successful replanting begun in 1948. Soft semi-abstracted illustrations done in acrylics and pencil offer emblematic interpretations of the text. The presentation is handsome but static.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian