The Book of Amazing Trees - Nathalie Tordjman - ★★★.½

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AUTHOR: Nathalie Tordjman
ILLUSTRATOR: Julien Norwood
GENRE: Children's Nonfiction
PUBLICATION DATE: September 14, 2021
RATING: 3.5 stars.

The book has great information on trees including their shape, composition, leaf patterns, growth process, and so on. It also includes some interesting questions for which answers are provided at the end. There are also a couple of activities for children. The information is quite enlightening. I especially enjoyed the section on record-breaking trees.

The illustrations are superb. Though there aren't any actual photos of trees, the illustrations more than suffice to accurately buttress the information provided.

There are three suggestions I would like to make with respect to the content:
1. Right at the start, the book declares, "Trees are plants that tower high in the sky." Immediately to the right of it is a statement saying that trees grow in every size, from a subshrub to a fully grown tree. That first definition needs a rethink because smart kids will surely catch it.
2. The "banana tree" is shown in one of the illustrations but the banana isn't a tree at all; it's a large herb as it doesn't have a woody trunk. It's better if the label on the tree diagram simply mentioned "banana" so as to not confuse children.
3. The font was quite small and narrow in some sections of my copy. I'm not sure if this is because I was reading the ARC. But a slightly larger and more legible font would work better.

Other than these minor issues, the book is very well written and would serve as an eye-opener on everything connected to trees. This would be a valuable addition to libraries and schools. And of course, to every little dendrophile out there.

Thank you, NetGalley and Princeton Architectural Press, for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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