As seasons change, nature alters with it. Children will be informed about 6 animals that reside within an oak tree and how they adjust their little animal lives with the seasons as their home changes.

This non-fiction, picture book: A Tree is a Home is about a big, old oak tree in which live six animals (bluejay, opossum, chipmunk, gray squirrel, raccoon and an acorn weevil). The book follows the tree and the animals through the seasons of one year.

Pamela Hickman, Nova Scotian, is an environmentalist, biologist and author of more than 40 children’s books. Zafouko Yamamoto uses water colour, gouache and photoshop to illustrate the book in an accurate but childlike way.

This book includes text boxes for each life stage, a glossary and three more references of related book titles are included in the back. This book was featured at story time at the Toronto Botanical Garden on October 2nd, 2021.

It would be a great book to start a unit or project on animals and their habitats throughout the year or about the life cycles of animals, trees and other plants in lower elementary school classrooms.

Reviewed by Katharina (Tina) Hausen
Edited by Thien Sa Hoang