Top Ten Tuesday: Books All About Trees

Today’s official theme for Top Ten Tuesday is “Covers/Titles with Things Found in Nature” and because there were so many different possibilities, I decided to narrow it down a bit and focus on trees. There are some absolutely amazing nonfiction books for kids out there specifically about tree communication. This concept fascinates me completely – trees (of different species) can communicate with each other through underground fungal networks. They can share nutrients and water, warn other trees of diseases or insects, and help young trees grow so they can reach the sunlight and photosynthesize.

Learn more about trees or just see them in a different light after reading these great fiction and nonfiction titles for kids from babies to teens.

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Books All About Trees

Be a Tree by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Felicita Sala

Stand tall.
Stretch your branches to the sun.
Be a tree!

We are all like trees: our spines, trunks; our skin, bark; our hearts giving us strength and support, like heartwood. We are fueled by air and sun.

And, like humans, trees are social. They “talk” to spread information; they share food and resources. Trees shelter and take care of one another. They are stronger together.

Can You Hear the Trees Talk?: Discovering the Hidden Life of the Forest by Peter Wohlleben

Discover the secret life of trees with this nature and science book for kids: Can You Hear the Trees Talking? shares the mysteries and magic of the forest with young readers, revealing what trees feel, how they communicate, and the ways trees take care of their families. The author of The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben, tells kids about the forest internet, aphids who keep ants as pets, nature’s water filters, and more fascinating things that happen under the canopy.

Everything You Need for a Treehouse by Carter Higgins, illustrated by Emily Hughes

Treehouses are for wonder.
Treehouses are for snacks.
They are for whispers and snickers and echoes.
Treehouses are for everyone.

This magical work of art from acclaimed picture book creators Carter Higgins and Emily Hughes celebrates the universal wonder of treehouses and all the adventure that live among branches.

Forest Talk: How Trees Communicate by Melissa Koch

Trees are essential. They provide water, shelter, and food for millions of plant and animal species, including humans. They deliver proven health benefits, and they capture and store carbon, which combats climate change. Yet trees are in trouble. Forests are struggling to adapt to climate change, and deforestation is a major threat.

Recently, researchers and citizen scientists made the surprising revelation that trees communicate with each other through an underground system of soil fungi and other methods. Complex social networks help trees survive and thrive by transferring resources to each other, sending defense signals, communicating with their kin, and more. Meet the tree scientists and learn more of their fascinating discoveries.

Listen to the Language of the Trees: A Story of How Forests Communicate Underground by Tera Kelley, illustrated by Marie Hermansson

This captivating book explores the real connection and communication that runs underground between trees in the forest. The well-researched details about trees’ own social network will help readers see that the natural world’s survival depends on staying connected and helping others―just like us!

The Magic & Mystery of Trees by Jen Green, illustrated by Claire McElfatrick

From the highest branch and leaf down to the complex “wood wide web” of roots, it’s no wonder every part of a tree plays an important role in its own growth and the habitat of the whole forest or woodland. The Magic & Mystery of Trees is a nature book that takes children on a fascinating journey of exploration, showing them just how special these mighty organisms are.

Did you know that trees can communicate with each other and warn each other predators? Or that they can record the past, and anticipate the future to ensure their survival? Dive deep into the pages of this nature book for kids to discover exactly how trees nurture their networks, and explore extraordinary trees from all around the world.

Redwoods by Jason Chin

An ordinary train ride becomes and extraordinary trip to the great ancient forests.

A ordinary subway trip is transformed when a young boy happens upon a book about redwood forests. As he reads the information unfolds, and with each new bit of knowledge, he travels―all the way to California to climb into the Redwood canopy. Crammed with interesting and accurate information about these great natural wonders, Jason Chin’s first book is innovative nonfiction set within a strong and beautiful picture storybook.

Tree by Britta Teckentrup

Through a hole in the book’s cover, an owl invites you inside to meet a majestic tree and all its forest inhabitants during the changing seasons. With clever peekaboo holes throughout, each page reveals a new set of animals playing and living in the tree—baby bears frolicking in the spring, bees buzzing around apples in the summer, squirrels storing nuts in the fall, and finally the lone owl keeping warm during the winter chill—until another year begins. . . .

Children will love seeing a new set of animals appear and then disappear as each page is turned, and along the way they’ll learn about the seasons and how a forest and its inhabitants change throughout the year

The Tree Book by Hannah Alice

Take a closer look through the seasons in this incredible board book about trees, with see-through acetate pages.

Have you ever thought about all the amazing things that trees can do? How do they grow and why do they change through the seasons? How do trees help us and how can we help trees? Children will love discovering the answers with amazing see-through pages and clear, friendly text. With labeled acetate diagrams of a tree throughout the year, alongside minibeasts and animals that live in trees, this is a fantastic first look at nature for curious children everywhere.

From leaves changing color to underground root networks, The Tree Book is an exciting way to explore all the amazing things trees can do.

A Tree Grows Up by Marfe Ferguson Delano

In this charming picture book, curious little kids will learn all about how an acorn grows up to be an oak tree. The story includes the stages of growth of a tree throughout the seasons and year. It also introduces the happenings around the tree, from children playing in its shade to squirrels climbing up its trunk and birds nesting in its branches. These engaging Explore My World picture books on subjects kids care about combine simple stories with unforgettable photography. They invite little kids to take their first big steps toward understanding the world around them and are just the thing for parents and kids to curl up with and read aloud.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.