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.

This is a Tiny Fragile Snake

Written by Nicholas Ruddock

Illustrated by Ashley Barron

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-784-1

36 pp.

Ages 3+

February 2024

 

This is a Tiny Fragile Snake is a nature walk, a stroll through different habitats to see a variety of animals but observed through human eyes and through our interactions with them. Nicholas Ruddock, Guelph writer and physician, gives us the perspective of children as they take in a snake, a bear, a hummingbird, a caterpillar, and more as their worlds intersect with ours. In rhyming verse, Nicholas Ruddock lets us see something different along with these children.

From This is a Tiny Fragile Snake, written by Nicholas Ruddock, illustrated by Ashley Barron

The first poem is "Snake" which, while it mentions what the snake eats, is more about the children protecting the snake from being trampled by moving it to a safer place via a coffee cup. Children being benevolent is a theme that also shows up in the poem about the hummingbird that has its beak stuck in a window screen, and a caterpillar saved from a lawnmower, as well as a chipmunk being stalked by a tuxedo cat.

I plucked it from its blade of grass

and placed it on a tree,

and a week ago a butterfly

came by and danced for me. ("Caterpillar")

From This is a Tiny Fragile Snake, written by Nicholas Ruddock, illustrated by Ashley Barron

Some poems reflect how we feel about the animals highlighted, whether disgusted, scared, impressed or something completely different. "Ants" speaks to dissuading ants from ruining a picnic by offering some sugary treats some distance away. "Skunk" suggests to children that, while we might see a skunk as a stinky animal, perhaps the skunk sees us with disdain too. Whether it be hornets, a moose, herons, a red squirrel, or a finch, wasp, worms, or loon, Nicholas Ruddock reminds us that people have a relationship with other animals. This might be because we have imposed ourselves on their habitats, or because they have encroached on ours, but there is an interrelationship as our dynamic worlds merge and separate.

From This is a Tiny Fragile Snake, written by Nicholas Ruddock, illustrated by Ashley Barron

By showing young readers how our actions can impact other species, Nicholas Ruddock demonstrates how we can ensure that those actions are always positive or at least harmless. There is wisdom in getting a raccoon out of house or how to free a loon trapped in ice which is delivered with a gentle awe of these animals and how they behave. There is a respect for them that is both explicit and implicit.

It turned out we were helpless,

there was nothing we could do,

for there seemed a steady stream of them,

and we were only two. ("Hornets")

I've admired Ashley Barron's cut-paper collage illustrations in earlier books that she's illustrated for others (e.g., Up! How Families Around the World Carry Their Little Ones, Chaiwala!, and Granny Left Me a Rocket Ship) and I believe that the texturing that comes with her technique lends itself well to outdoor settings. Like leaves that layer and feathers and fur, scales and petals of texture, Ashley Barron's art is rich in depth and colour, giving a three-dimensionality to the landscapes and their animals.

While This is a Tiny Fragile Snake will entice readers, young and old, to find the poetry in nature and how we interact with it, the poems within also remind us how, when our worlds merge, we can ensure those interactions remain copacetic.

So we gave up, threw up our hands,

defeated by a pest,

and for the rest of summer

she was treated as a guest. ("Squirrel")