There is something sweet and comforting about trees, the way they sway and bend in the wind, the shade they provide, and the beauty they create. I remember reading the tender story about a tree’s bond with a little boy over and over again. When I first laid eyes on A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry I immediately thought about my favorite childhood book called The Giving Tree my link text by Shel Silverstein. Either side packed tight with trees that, “fill up the sky”. I’m used to driving down old roads with skyscraper-tall pine trees whisping by. Growing up in East Texas I’ve always had a love for trees. It IS a delightful book, it does make the reader appreciate the tree even more and perhaps it does make everyone feel that they would like to plant a tree and be proud about having done it. I feel that my comments above on the first read are confirmed.

I noticed this on my daughter's shelves while staying with her and I decided to read it again.

This is a delightful book and one which makes the reader appreciate the beauty of the tree even more. The leaves whisper in the breeze all summer long', playhouses are built in trees, apples are picked from trees, cats escape from dogs by running up a tree (and then have to be rescued by the Fire Brigade!), trees can have swings for children to play on or baskets of flowers hanging from them (or food for the birds even), cows shelter in trees' lee and picnics are taken in their shade.Īfter reading the book, or in the case of the youngsters featured in it, everyone wants to plant a tree and watch it grow and then proudly proclaim, 'I planted that tree.' So when I saw 'A Tree Is Nice' I just had to own it! The illustrations by Marc Simont are particularly fetching and the story, while simplicity itself, gives a great understanding of what role a tree has in everyday life.Īs a forest, they 'fill up the sky', they live besides rivers and in valleys, even just one tree is nice because, '. And I have always had an interest in trees from a young age, particularly from my teenage years when my wife to be and myself used to picnic at Kew Gardens in London.

Perhaps rather parochially my favourite tree in the whole world is an oak tree aged a few hundred years that lives at the entrance to my daughter's property.

A tree is nice udry