Written and Illustrated by Joyce Hesselberth
Beatrice, a girl with pink skin and light purple hair, is seen playing in a tree when someone calls from her house (we see only the speech bubble) to come home for bedtime. Not happy about going inside, Beatrice wishes she were a tree and could stay out all night. With that, she begins her metamorphosis into a tree on the next page-turn. She begins to sprout branches and leaves and her roots push deep into the ground. With beautiful duo-chromatic illustrations, the reader experiences the young girl’s imagination of being a tree as she moves through the seasons and as wildlife comes to visit and enjoy the habitat that the tree provides. Abruptly the fantasy ends as Beatrice is summoned home to bed, NOW! She falls asleep in her bed contentedly holding on to a small tree branch. The end-page has information about trees and a simple explanation of photosynthesis that provide learning facts for further discussion.
Reviewed by Kristine Kramer, Media Clerk, Lincoln Elementary School Library
Review shared in November 2021
Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades: Grades K-2
Beatrice Was a Tree
Written and Illustrated by Joyce Hesselberth
Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
40 pages
Release Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 9780062741264
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
