This Tree, 1, 2, 3

PreS—Behind Oak Lane School stands a very tall tree. It says, "From roots to tiptop,/I am a good home." Many animals agree and pass their days, from "1 owl [that] waits for the moon" to "10 worms glide." Each page provides the opportunity to identify sequential numbers of arboreal inhabitants: various insects, birds, and mammals. As the students surrounding the trunk become aware, this tree is bustling with life. Readers will enjoy looking for its residents, made from cut-paper and digital-collage elements. This abridged version of Formento's This Tree Counts (Albert Whitman, 2010) simplifies the ecological lesson and cuts out the class from the original version. Though the text is pared down, the important message remains. This title functions well as a counting book and as an introduction to an oak tree's inhabitants.—Laura Butler, Mount Laurel Library, NJ