Janice May UdryCritiques

Independent Reading Level - 1st Grade
Awards-Winner of the Caldecott Medal

Not a favorite of anyone.

Genre
Classics
Picture books for children
Subject
Children
Everyday life
Trees

Four kids frolic under the moon before bedtime. Good for them. Dull for me.

A Tree Is Nice is a classic tale about the beauty of the everyday world. "Simont's watercolors perfectly complement the poetic simplicity of the text, allowing the reader room to engage in his or her own imaginative embroiderings about trees" (Children's Books and Their Creators).

Trees are beautiful. They fill up the sky. If you have a tree, you can climb up its trunk, roll in its leaves, or hang a swing from one of its limbs. Cows and babies can nap in the shade of a tree. Birds can make nests in the branches. A tree is good to have around. A tree is nice.

A classic Caldecott from the 50s, that alternates between black and white and bright watercolor washes while enumerating the lovely contributions trees make to our lives. Ends with a mild encouragement to plant trees.

Here we see one of the top perks of working in a library with an extensive children's literature collection: coming across quirky little books like this one, illustrated beautifully and clearly by Maurice Sendak. It's a simple, short story about friendship that should ring true to anyone who has ever had a childhood friend that at times seem like more of a frenemy. Would be fun to read aloud to others.

Trees, picture books, nature,

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"James used to be my friend. But today he is my enemy." John is sick of James always wanting to be the boss, but when he goes to James' ("I'm going over and poke James"), the two reconcile. Classic Sendak two-color illustrations make this little story perfect.

Yes, I laughed with recognition. So this text/illustrations did capture those feelings of being young and outdoors playing after dark. I was glad when the pages had the color illustrations. I didn’t like the black & white ones here as much even though on their own some of them were wonderful; going back and forth between color and not color felt jarring to me though. Very poetic text and many of the illustrations were lovely and evocative. I’m not normally a huge Sendak fan but I did enjoy the pictures here, especially the dreamy facial expressions of the children and the colorful nature scenes, and others too. It’s a lovely book. I think children will be enchanted by this book. It would make a great bedtime story. 3-1/2 stars

The present tense telling of the story is unique and makes the reader feel like part of the beautiful world the author and illustrator have created. Every two pages there is a textless double page spread that is serene and peaceful. This is a simple book about siblings frolicking in the night until it is time for bed. This is a beautiful bedtime story.

This book encouraged readers to think about the many ways to enjoy and appreciate trees. It reminds the reader of their beauty and purpose. It lists a lot of facts about trees.

Mary Jo really wanted to share something with her whole class. But every time she was asked. She didn't get up in front of the class. She just couldn't decide what she really wanted to share. Then one day she decided she really wanted to share something special. It was her dad and it was a hit with her whole class.

Age: 4-6
Source Barnes and Noble

This book is about trees and it’s many facts pertaining to the life we live. It states it’s many uses in the world and is very informational. I thought this book was great when it related its uses such as sitting under for shade and providing air for us to breath.

Wonderful goodnight tale of children playing outside trying to catch the moon with artwork by Maurice Sendak.

Yet another library sale find.

This book captures the whimsical joy of a summer night, in which four children play in their backyard with only the moon for their light. Short and simple, this book has an almost dream-like quality while still being completely relatable to young children (and the young at heart, as we remember carefree summer evenings catching fireflies and whatnot until our parents called us in for the night). The illustrations vary between being simple black-and-white sketches on the pages with text and being full-color, full-page affairs on the following page spreads.

The book examines how trees help people in their daily lives.

The book talks about all the reasons trees are nice. For example, because they gjvr us shade and shelter. This book falls under text to world, because children can male connections to what they have seen trees used for out in the world, or on tv, or their parents talked to them about.

I like this book because it listed a lot of facts about trees that can be used in different lessons for different subjects. It also showed that trees are very important to our way of living which is something that kids should be taught at a young age.

"A tree is nice" is a book all about trees. Different examples of how trees are useful and how people use them. This is a story and nonfiction at the same time. I liked the different uses for trees and I have never really thought about how you can use a tree, the leaves and the sticks for a multitude of different things. I enjoyed this because it can give children ways to play outside and now a days we need more kids to be outside, instead of buried in technology.

Illustrated by Marc Simont

Udry tells children all the ways that a tree is nice. It provides shade, for both cows and people. You can climb in it, or hang a swing on a strong limb. You can pick apples if it’s an apple tree. It protects your house from wind. And gives cats a place to hide from dogs. Trees are by rivers, on mountains, in yards. Sometimes a tree is all by itself, and other times many trees together form a forest. Yes, a tree is nice.

Marc Simont’s beautiful illustrations serve the story well. He includes a variety of trees, large and small, deciduous and coniferous. His paintings earned a Caldecott Medal for excellence in illustration.

This book is great due to the illustrations and the personification used. The illustrations are awesome because every other page is just a picture with no words. This allows for a reflection of the previous page, and a reinforcement of what happened on the previous page. This book could be great for early readers, read aloud, or ELL. I also really like the personification that the author uses. For example, "The sun is tired. It goes down the sky into the drowsy hills." This gives each and every element of the story human-like characteristics and makes the story more intriguing. The purpose of this story is to entertain and tell a story.

a cute book discussing the different things that we can use a single tree for: shade, climbing for fun, and taking nice breaks out of the sun
5 books