The Old Oak Tree

Words by Hilary Briar

Music by Reid Briar

Art by Angela Doak

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77471-199-6

24 pp.

Ages 3-7

April 2024

 

With the spring, children will bear witness to many elements in nature undergoing change that will both delight and surprise. They will see robins busily at work, building their nests and then tending to their young. There will be oak trees and other deciduous trees leafing out. There will be animals born and growing. And they will all converge intermittently. In Hilary Briar's story and lyrics, that point of converge is The Old Oak Tree.

From The Old Oak Tree, words by Hilary Briar, music by Reid Briar, illustrated by Angela Doak

Based on their song, The Old Oak Tree, Hilary Briar and Reid Briar give us a story of the life cycle of an old oak tree as it changes through the seasons and the lives it impacts. Told in rhyming verse, the life of a robin and oak tree are intertwined, reflecting what each experiences. If the robin is happy, so is the oak. When the robin is tender, so is the oak. If there is sweetness in the robin's life, so is there for the oak.

In her nest so cozy

The robin dreamed so sweet

That she woke up every morning

Singing tweet tweet tweet

In the old oak tree

The strong oak tree

The sweetest old oak

That you ever did see

From The Old Oak Tree, words by Hilary Briar, music by Reid Briar, illustrated by Angela Doak

As the seasons change and the animals that use the oak tree come and go, from a fawn, a raccoon, a fox and birds like the woodpecker and blue jay, both the robin and the tree deal with weather until a lightning strike takes down the old oak tree. And though there is sadness for the robin "to say goodbye to a friend so dear," that old oak tree still has life to offer. 

From The Old Oak Tree, words by Hilary Briar, music by Reid Briar, illustrated by Angela Doak

It is never too early for children to learn about life cycles of plants and animals, especially as that learning will help them understand our own life cycle. Still, the loss of a tree is always a tragedy. For a life force that gives so much to others in its environment, from shelter and food to mitigating deficiencies in physical surroundings, trees are still, like other living things, ephemeral. Even so, Nova Scotia's Hilary Briar's rhyming verses, put to music (appended to the story) by partner Reid Briar, blends the appreciation and heartache with hope. Even after the tree is no longer standing, it serves a significant role, perhaps a little different but important just the same.

Halifax's Angela Doak gives The Old Oak Tree an organic feel to the art through her collage work that blends fabric and found objects to give texture and depth. Just as the robin integrates grass and twigs, roots and moss, to construct an effective nest, Angela Doak combines a variety of materials, all of a realistic and natural colour palette, to create outdoor seasons that are both uncluttered and sophisticated. (See the austere scene in which the tree is struck by lightning but look deep into the multi-layered sky that evokes menace and light.)

From The Old Oak Tree, words by Hilary Briar, music by Reid Briar, illustrated by Angela Doak

Like the old oak tree that can do it all, The Old Oak Tree story, with its rhyming verses, music, and art is a fine package of lessons about the circle of life and the interrelationships of living things. These are lessons that are broad and far-reaching but delicate when taken down to the level of one tree which will help children see beyond the forest and deeply into it.