The Tree in Me
The Marginalian (Brain Pickings) Best Books of the Year 2022
A 2022 NCTE Notable Poetry Book
Indiebound bestseller
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Selection 2022, 2023
SOI Original Art Show 2022 Juried Selection
Amazon Editor’s Pick Best Books Ages 3-5
A stunning and sensitive portrait of the strength within each of us and the nourishment we receive from the natural world, by the New York Times bestselling creator of the acclaimed My Heart and The Book of Mistakes
Through poetic text and exquisite illustrations of children reveling in nature, this picture book explores the various ways we as human beings are strong, creative, and connected to others. Each of us is like a tree, with roots and fruit, and an enduring link to everything else in nature. “The tree in me is strong. It bends in the wind, and has roots that go deep . . . to where other roots reach up toward their own trunk-branch-crown and sky.”
As Corinna Luyken did in her award-winning My Heart, she again provides an invigorating conversation-starter that contains a world of truths–about self-esteem, community, and living a meaningful life.
“Luminous and joyous, a fruit pie feast for the eyes
as well as the soul.”
—New York Times Book Review
"The Tree in Me is another of Luyken's revelations. My kids (and I) want to jump into the pages of this book and stay there . . ."
—NPR
“Movement and energy pour through the spreads as the children play, run, and embrace the very air in this celebration of the way the force of nature courses through every living being.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A celebration of humankind’s connection to the natural world, as a child joyfully observes how a tree—and all the elements that allow it to flourish—lives on in people. Luyken captures the splendor of nature in her brushwork and patterns.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Corinna Luyken moves between the quotidian and the transcendental . . . Her text plays out sparingly from page to page amid lush illustration.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Artist and author Corinna Luyken draws on this intimate connection between the sylvan and the human in The Tree in Me—a lyrical meditation on the root of creativity, strength, and connection, with a spirit and sensibility kindred to her earlier emotional intelligence primer in the form of a painted poem.”
—The Marginalian (Formerly Brain Pickings)
“Luyken's latest offering will bolster her strong reputation as an artist skilled in making tangible the intangible qualities of lovingkindness, resilience, and creativity.”
—The Horn Book Review