The Tree and Me (Bea Garcia Series #4)

by Deborah Zemke

Overview

The fourth chapter book in this quirky, beloved series focuses on teamwork in the classroom and care for the environment. Perfect for fans of Amelia's Notebook, Judy Moody, and Dory Fantasmagory series.

There's a very special 150-year-old oak tree outside the window of Bea's classroom at Emily Dickinson Elementary School. When Bert, Bea's nemesis, climbs the tree, he gets in a lot of trouble--and that leads to even more trouble for everyone. "Concerned" citizens proclaim the tree a hazard and call for cutting it down. But the class won't let that happen, and using Bea's artistic ability, they work out a great plan to save the tree named Emily. Bea and her classmates know they can save their school's best tree from being cut down!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735229433
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/14/2019
Series:	Bea Garcia Series , #4
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
Lexile:	590L (what's this?)
File size:	64 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Deborah Zemke has written and illustrated many books for young readers, including the wildly successful Doodles place mat series. Her work has also appeared in several magazines. She is also the designer of the ITC Zemke Hand font. She lives in Missouri.

Editorial Reviews

★ 2019-03-17
Problems are afoot at Emily Dickinson Elementary School, and it's up to Bea Garcia to gather the troops and fight.

Bea Garcia and her best friend, Judith Einstein, sit every day under the 250-year-old oak tree in their schoolyard and imagine a face in its trunk. They name it "Emily" after their favorite American poet. Bea loves to draw both real and imagined pictures of their favorite place—the squirrels in the tree, the branches that reach for the sky, the view from the canopy even though she's never climbed that high. Until the day a problem boy does climb that high, pelting the kids with acorns and then getting stuck. Bert causes such a scene that the school board declares Emily a nuisance and decides to chop it down. Bea and Einstein rally their friends with environmental facts, poetry, and artwork to try to convince the adults in their lives to change their minds. Bea must enlist Bert if she wants her plan to succeed. Can she use her imagination and Bert's love of monsters to get him in line? In Bea's fourth outing, Zemke gently encourages her protagonist to grow from an artist into an activist. Her energy and passion spill from both her narration and her frequent cartoons, which humorously extend the text. Spanish-speaking Bea's Latinx, Einstein and Bert present white, and their classmates are diverse.

A funny and timely primer for budding activists. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews