POETREES by Douglas Florian

Bibliographic Data

Florian, Douglas.  2010.  POETREES.  New York:  Beach Lane Books.  ISBN:  9781416986720

Plot Summary 

This topical collection of poetry features a variety of trees and an appreciation for the roots, bark, and leaves that make them up.  Florian writes lightly and simply, with both humor and reverence for these great organisms that give us life, in a way that readers young and old will appreciate.

Critical Analysis

The clever title of this book is just a hint of the delightful experience found within, as the author invites us into the world of poetry and trees!  This book is unique and non-traditional in many ways:  its vertical format, opening from bottom to top, creates a lengthened two-page canvas for illustrating the tallest of trees!  Watercolor paints on textured backgrounds create soothing scenes, both realistic and fantastic, appropriately done using the earth tones found in nature.

The text is visually stimulating as it is spaced out for effect, turned vertically, or physically manipulated to create a shape poem.  One poem is crafted in a circular shape to represent a tree ring in the poem titled “Tree Ring” and another shapes the text as an infinity symbol to signify the never-ending life cycle of plants in the poem titled “The Seed.”  Florian uses wordplay wherever possible, to describe trees that are “ex-seed-ingly fine” and “tree-mendous,” or to discuss a tree’s “his-tree” as shown in its rings when it has been around for a “cen-tree.”

Florian personifies the weeping willow tree, asking why it weeps, moans, and groans, and uses humorous onomatopoeia to describe the “birrrrrrrrrrrrrch” that grows in cold weather.  Most of the poems rhyme and have consistent rhythms, some with short lines and others more lengthy.  Some include heavy repetition which makes it fun to read aloud, such as in the poem “Baobab”:  “Jug tree. / Hug tree. / Upside- / Down tree. / Vat tree. / Fat tree. / Bottle tree. / Brown tree.”  As the poem nears its end, the letters of the text start to spread apart, as it describes the wide girth of the tree:  “Double tree. / Bubble tree. / Can-dle-stick. / G i r t h  t r e e. / E a r t h  t r e e. / T  h  i  c  k  ! / T  h  i  c  k  !  / T  h  i  c  k  !”

The book includes both a table of contents and a “glossatree” which defines unfamiliar vocabulary and offers a brief description of each of the types of trees featured in the book. 

Review Excerpts

"Starting with the book’s title and ending with a final “glossatree,” the wordplay in Florian’s latest poetry collection provides plenty of fun...The final fascinating notes on each tree, and on leaves, stems, and roots, spell out the call for conservation that is part of the poetry and pictures. — Booklist

"Trees receive a witty and informative rhyming appreciation...the poems live up to his usual high standard...Readers and listeners will learn and laugh."--Kirkus Reviews

“Florian’s richly watercolored collages, accompanied by verse, evoke a whole forest of trees. Sometimes it takes just a handful of words. “From the acorn grows the tree - slowly, slowly,” he writes, as an oak fills a two-page spread, stained onto paper.”--New York Times Book Review

Connections

• Read other books by Douglas Florian, such as Dinothesaurus:  Prehistoric Poems and Paintings and UnBEElievables
• Introduce or extend a unit on plants or plant parts
• Use as part of an Earth Day celebration 
• Create watercolor paintings of trees and plants in Florian’s style
• Cultivate a topical collection of poems about a different type of plant, such as flowering plants or berry plants
• Write a poem about a plant or tree that you are fond of

Awards and Honors

• Amazon Rating 4.2 / 5

• Goodreads Rating 4.16 / 5