Rise to the Sky: How the World's Tallest Trees Grow Up

by Rebecca E. Hirsch, Mia Posada (Illustrator)

Overview

What is the tallest living thing? It's not an elephant, or a giraffe, or even a blue whale. It's a tree!

Trees are the tallest living things on Earth. But how do they grow to be so tall? Science writer Rebecca E. Hirsch presents a poetic introduction to the tree life cycle in Rise to the Sky. Accompanied by Mia Posada's detailed collage illustrations, this book features the tallest tree species from around the world, including the coast redwood, the Sitka spruce, and the giant sequoia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728485683
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	33 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Rebecca E. Hirsch is an award- winning children's author with a PhD in plant biology. Her picture books include Plants Can't Sit Still and Night Creatures: Animals That Swoop, Crawl, and Creep while You Sleep. She lives with her husband and three children in State College, Pennsylvania. You can visit her online at rebeccahirsch.com.
Mia Posada grew up in Minneapolis, then studied art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also studied art in Florence, Italy, and illustration at Academy of Art College in San Francisco, California. Mia has written and illustrated numerous books including: The Long, Long Journey: The Godwit's Amazing Migration, Who Was Here?: Discovering Wild Animal Tracks, and Summer Green to Autumn Gold: Uncovering Leaves' Hidden Colors. She illustrated Plants Can't Sit Still which was named a Kirkus Best Children's Books and won the NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts Award. She lives in Golden Valley, Minnesota with her husband and their three kids.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/27/2023

Hirsch teaches basic plant biology through the example of the world’s “tallest living thing”—trees—in this awe-inspiring text. Employing rhythmic repetition, careful prose first juxtaposes coast redwoods, giant sequoias, Sitka spruces, and the like with other entities, including the Statue of Liberty and a blue whale. Turning to trees’ beginnings as “old stumps” or “seeds/ as small as a ladybug,” Hirsch highlights the supporting role of air, food, sunlight, and water in the trees’ lives, which are sometimes thousands of years long. Washed in earthy browns and vivid emerald greens, Posada’s expertly rendered cut paper collage provide texture that feels touchable—an approach well suited to the close-up imagery (including detailed insets) of bark-covered trunks, jagged-edged leaves, and seedlings bursting from soil. A vertical spread offers an emblematic, energetic wow moment as the trees rise “up,/ up,/ up/ to the sky!” Extensive back matter includes activities. Ages 5–10. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"This charming story is a love letter to the tenacity of trees to grow for hundreds or even thousands of years and become the highest they can be." —starred, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

★ 11/03/2023

PreS-Gr 3—When people think of the tallest living thing, animals may come to mind at first. But trees hold this distinct honor, and the tallest among them are found only in a few select locations around the world. From tiny seeds, trees dig their roots deep into the ground and, with enough water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide, they can eventually reach the sky. This charming story is a love letter to the tenacity of trees to grow for hundreds or even thousands of years and become the highest they can be. The primary text is designed for young children, using limited words and poetic language to describe trees in a complete yet accessible way. Throughout the book, readers will also find details embedded within the illustrations that provide greater context for older children. At the end, even more detail is given through diagrams, activity guides, and a list of titles for further investigation. One of the most notable elements is the collage-style illustrations that use cut paper to depict not only the trees and their environment but the scientific details as well. This design gives the book a tactile appearance and connects the visual of the paper to the trees that provided it. VERDICT This is a captivating nonfiction title that will appeal to preschoolers as well as older readers thanks to its versatile presentation.—Mary R. Lanni

School Library Journal

★ 2023-01-12
How do trees grow?

The team that produced Plants Can’t Sit Still (2016) uses the same winning formula of a few well-chosen words and appealing images to describe how trees can become the “tallest living thing” on Earth. Hirsch’s poetic text starts at the beginning, with seeds and sprouts, going on to describe how young trees use sunlight to feed themselves, take in water from the ground and carbon dioxide from the air, and return oxygen and water to the air. As trees grow taller, their roots grow wider, “intertwine with the roots of their neighbors...and help hold the tree up.” Seeds fall, and the cycle begins again. This sequence is splendidly illustrated with Posada’s textured, stylized, though accurate cut-paper collages and watercolors, each spread showing a different stage. One spread must be turned sideways, emphasizing the incredible height of some trees. The backmatter explains the process in more detail, introducing relevant vocabulary and answering some anticipated questions. There are also photographs of some of the world’s tallest tree species and a map showing where they can be found. With graceful, easy-to-read-aloud text and illustrations that would show well to a group, this would be a welcome addition to a nature-themed storytime. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A well-focused, beautiful, and informative introduction to the arboreal world. (activities, further reading) (Informational picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews