THIS IS THE TREE

The text may not be quite up to the pictures in this lyrical tribute to the baobab, but children will come away with at least a glimpse of the astonishing biological microcosm that grows on and near these monumental fixtures of the African plains. Wildlife positively teems in Kennaway’s clean-lined, brightly hued close-ups: great gray elephants, a regal leopard, pink and purple lizards, clusters of exotic looking birds and insects, all dependent in one way or another on the huge, long-lived, oddly upside-down-looking tree. Despite a closing spread of facts in brief, however, much of that wildlife remains unidentified, and readers will stumble over lines like, “snake snoozes softly with one beady eye,” or “delicious sweet white pulp that tastes just like wine gums!” Until Barbara Bash’s Tree of Life (1989) comes back into print, if it does, consider this a useful, attractive placeholder. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-8)