| Title | : | Sequoia |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1596437278 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781596437272 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 34 |
| Publication | : | First published September 23, 2014 |
This is his story. Through controlled verse and luscious illustration, Tony Johnston and Wendell Minor do justice to the enormous figure of the sequoia tree. A Neal Porter Book
Sequoia Reviews
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A pleasant and calm nature book about the life of a tree.
The text is simple but poetic and the illustrations are pretty and realistic. -
Sequoia, by Tony Johnston, is a beautiful primary picture book personifying the life of an ancient sequoia. The poetic text of Johnston and watercolor illustrations of Wendell Minor work magnificently together to tell the story of this old tree and the world he lives in. I chose this book as the first read aloud for my habitat text set because it has a familiar North American forest setting, but also something new, the sequoia tree and old growth forests. I thought this combination would help students connect prior knowledge to new knowledge when identifying habitat characteristics and elements. This book also lends itself very well to identifying poetic elements, such as personification and perspective. I especially liked how the author and illustrator use the picture of a grizzly bear at the base of the towering tree to show the immensity of the sequoia in a concrete fashion.
My opening would be, “ How many of you have ever played under the branches of a tree? Have you ever climbed a tree or seen squirrels and birds in them? Have you ever jumped in the leaves? Turn to your shoulder partner and share your favorite memories of trees. (Children share with each other). Close your eyes and remember how big around the biggest tree trunk you have ever seen is. (Children close their eyes and remember). I am going to share this book about a tree so large and so old you could drive a car right through its trunk! (Show students the book cover opened all the way, so they can see the front and back cover at once). The title of this book is Sequoia, and it is written by Tony Johnston. The artwork is done in watercolors by Wendell Minor. This tree is a special tree called a sequoia, and it can live to be about 3,200 years old! (Allow children to talk about how old that is compared to how long people and other organisms live). Remember when I read Owl Moon to you? The story was told using poetry, right? The words painted pictures in your head. You’ll notice that this author did the same thing. You’ll also notice how the pictures in this book help to tell the story just like in Owl Moon. I’d like you to be able to tell me how the author and illustrator of Sequoia, make the tree seem like an old man, so be watching for examples of that. Also, be able to talk about the sequoia’s home, or habitat.”
I use several opening moves in the opening for this read aloud. I activate prior knowledge and invite personal connections when the children share their favorite memories of trees and close their eyes to remember the biggest tree they’ve seen. Also, I draw attention to the author and illustrator’s craft and make connections to previously read text when I compare the poetry and illustrations of Owl Moon to Sequoia. Next, I prompt the listeners to notice details when I ask them to be able to tell me how the author and illustrator make the tree seem human and to also be able to talk about the sequoia’s home. When I tell the students about how old and large the tree is, I provide important background knowledge, which will be very important when we tie this book into the other texts in this habitat set.
Sequoia is a good choice for this text set because it has a quiet, thoughtful text in short amounts. It lends itself well to lingering over each page without the listener’s mind straying. A North American forest is a relatively familiar habitat for students, with animals they know about and a climate they understand. This will make it easier for them to make connections when we move into other habitats. Also, the book helps me cover important literacy skills, such as figurative language, personification, perspective, prose and the intertwining of text and illustration to create understanding. It relates to the other books in this text set because it shows how a tree has adaptations that help it survive the seasons and dangers, such as a wild fire. It also shows the characteristics of an old growth forest and how the animals and other plants depend upon the sequoia to survive. The other books show how other organisms survive in their habitats and what the characteristics of those habitats are. I endeavored to choose books with different types of organisms and different habitats. Students don’t commonly recognize plants as organisms with adaptations and habitat needs, so I included this book in my text set. -
Author Tony Johnston explores the life of a giant sequoia tree in this poetic picture-book, her evocative text paired with beautiful watercolor artwork from illustrator Wendell Minor. With the sunlight upon his massive shoulders, and the animals at his distant feet, the tree watches all around him. From his great height, he gathers clouds to him and touches snow. A long-lived creature, he silently tells of times and creatures past, reaching his arms toward the stars...
I found Johnston's text in Sequoia to be quite lovely, capturing the beauty and mystery of these giant arboreal beings quite wonderfully. It's astonishing to think that they can live 3,200 years, something one learns in the brief informational afterword. The artwork from Minor is likewise lovely, and there were scenes - especially the one depicting the sequoia covered in snow - that left me breathless. One or two of these scenes are oriented differently on the two-page spread, in order to capture the sense of the tallness of these giants, necessitating turning the book on its side. All in all, a gorgeous book, one I would recommend to tree-lovers young and old, and to anyone looking for a very basic introduction to the giant sequoia for the younger picture-book set. -
Great verse and awesomely beautiful illustrations by Wendell Minor.
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Stunning book that personifies the majestic sequoia.
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I thought this book was beautiful and would make a great mentor text for personifying nonhuman things. I've always thought that old trees must have amazing stories to tell.
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This is a poem about Sequoia, a giant and ancient tree and how he lives through the year. As the seasons change, Sequoia opens his arms and gathers different things to him. He gathers owls to him in the springtime when he is cloaked in green. When fires come in the heat of summer, he gathers flames to him. As the birds fly away in the autumn, he gathers one last crow. In the winter, he gathers snow. He also listens quietly and deeply to the nature around him and shares stories that he has gathered over time with the smaller cedars. This picture book is a celebration of ancient trees and this one sequoia in particular.
Johnston uses repetition very skillfully in his poem. It is enough of a structure to allow children to have something to lean on when reading, but the poem is also free too. It’s a strong mix of structure and freedom that is perfect for a tree poem. As the seasons change, children will see nature change as well. There is a joy to this work, a dedication to preservation of trees like this, and a thrill in the wildness of nature. Johnston uses gorgeous imagery throughout that further ties the wild to this tree and how he feels.
Minor’s illustrations are exceptional. They carry the beauty of the verse to new heights as readers get to see the glory of this single sequoia standing so tall above everything else. Yet Minor also makes sure that Sequoia is part of the nature around him. The light is beautiful in these images streaming through the trees in beams, bright dawn on other pages, and the softness of twilight at others.
A wild and beautiful poetic celebration of a tree, this book is less about the facts of sequoia trees and more about the experience of one. Appropriate for ages 4-6. -
Tony Johnston's SEQUOIA couples lyric prose with luminous illustrations by the great Wendell Minor. Third person narration propels the story with the majestic sequoia as the protagonist, his wisdom and towering height leaving an impression of a proud yet kindly old man spinning tales for young listeners. This gorgeous read will no doubt be a great addition to any home library, as well as a great resource in a classroom setting.
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Standing tall above the tree line, Sequoia stretches his ancient arms and gathers clouds to him. He watches as days, seasons, years pass by. His branches are home to owls and choirs of frogs. Beneath his broad canopy, a world grows.This is his story. Through controlled verse and luscious illustration, Tony Johnston and Wendell Minor do justice to the enormous figure of the sequoia tree. A Neal Porter Book
Subject:
Giant sequoia -- Juvenile poetry.
Trees -- Juvenile poetry.
Children's poetry, American
Tony Johnston was born in Los Angeles, California on January 30, 1942. She received a B.A. in history and an M.A in education from Stanford University. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a fourth-grade teacher. She has written over 70 books for children. Her titles include Amber on the Mountain, the Cowboy and the Black-Eyed Pea, Day of the Dead, the Ghost of Nicholas Greebe, the Sparky and Eddie series, and the Adventures of Mole and Troll. Her first adult novel was Any Small Goodness. Her works have earned her several awards including a Children's Choice Award for Four Scary Stories and the Beatty Award in 2002 for Any Small Goodness. (Bowker Author Biography) -
Sometimes living more than 3,000 years, giant sequoias have seen it all from their lofty perspective. This picture book uses personification, lively prose, and sweepingly majestic illustrations rendered in gouache watercolor to describe what the sequoia notices as the seasons pass. Both text and images make it clear that the tree gives shelter to many species in some way or another. One of the observations I liked was this one: "He feels / in his ringed / heart / the earth grow / still" (unpaged). There is a sense of wonder and grandeur about this picture book, and many readers will be reminded of the unimportance of humans when measured against this natural wonder. The back matter included notes on sequoias and a warning that global warming may spell their death knell as the snowpack disappears. I defy anyone who sees those pages with the tree's branches laden with snow--"bearded / and cloaked / and wild with / white" (unpaged) to fail to realize what the world will miss once these forest giants are gone. This picture book belongs in a sustainability unit, for sure, and one celebrating the natural beauty of the planet.
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Ages 4-8.
I adored this book. The illustrations are beautiful, each one a painting of the giant sequoia and his surroundings. The story itself is about the sequoia and all the seasons and times of day he experiences. The book refers to the tree as a he, and there is a lot of personification in the text. The tree is referred to as "stretching his ancient arms" and smelling storms and watching the grove below him.
The language is gorgeous. Each word itself is not complicated, but the metaphors are beautiful. At the end of the book is a page about sequoias and the danger they are in of going extinct.
This would be a great book for a lesson on global warming, about the extinction of plants and animals, about California, about trees in general, etc. A ton of lessons this book could go along with. If you were just talking about metaphors, personification, and other English lessons, this book would go great along with "Twilight Comes Twice" by Ralph Fletcher. I felt a lot of similarities in the language use between these two books. -
Amazingly beautiful book! The poetry is beautiful and the illustrations stand out in every way. I admit that I"m a huge fan of the glowing, almost dreamy like illustration style of Wendell Minor. I've loved every by him that I've ever seen so when I heard about this book I knew I had to get it. Minor shows the reader many different perspectives on this most magnificent of trees. He shows the canopy, individual branches, views of the trunk and the animals that live there. He even has a picture where the reader appears to be looking up at the tree from its base. The back end paper is especially powerful as it shows two children standing at the base of a sequoia, it provides the reader with a glimpse of just how huge these trees really all. The poem is beautiful too as it takes the reader through each of the four seasons through the experiences of one sequoia tree. The imagery is vivid and inspiring.
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Johnston, T. (2014). Sequoia. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
Kirkus Review 2014
Poetry
Sequoia is a beautiful example of why poetry works for kids. The personified sequoia wakes up and stretches his arms, and already we can hear the rustling, feel the cool air, and smell the wood and outdoor aromas. The book takes us on a sensory journey from dawn, through the season, and to nightfall in the life of a wise, old tree. The illustrations in the book help to create this experience with an almost impressionistic, dreamy style. I think this book would be great to teach kids about multiple perspectives, conservation, and most definitely poetry. It stresses the wisdom and importance of the land, but asks the reader to see it from the perspective of the Sequoia. The poetry in the book leaves us feeling like we just walked through the woods, or sat on top of this great big tree. It is wholly evocative and would be a great prototype for students learning to write in that style. -
Wow. The stunningly gorgeous paintings that illustrate this book capture the profoundness and stature of the sequoia tree for the reader. The text of this story is beautifully written as the sequoia tree takes on a persona and his life is described in a third person voice through the seasons.
I would pair this with
Redwoods and use the author's note at the end that explains the difference between the two ancient types of trees. Would also pair well with
Poetrees &
Celebritrees: Historic and Famous Trees of the World. -
I just won this book, but certainly would have purchased it. It is gorgeous, the poetic words written as seasons pass: “He listens to beetles scratch, to woodpeckers tap, to firs converse in wind.” Wendell Minor’s beautiful double-page spreads enhance the detail of what the words convey. There is a page showing birds leaving for the winter, and the opposite page part of branches with a solitary crow. “He opens his ancient, brittle arms, and gathers one last crow.” It’s book that celebrates the largest living thing on earth, which has lived about 3200 years. The backmatter shares concern for environmental challenges. They live inland in California, in a severe drought, unlike the redwoods which are on the coast. The book will inspire many who love nature.
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I have never had the opportunity to see the Giant Sequoia trees of California, although it is one of those places my husband and I hope to travel to some day. After reading this incredible book, however, I almost feel as though I have been. The author wrote in such a reverence to the trees, I felt as though I were hearing the words from a church pulpit, with the message being that we are responsible for keeping these trees alive for future generations. To think of trees that can live for 3,200 years, and to sadly imagine these trees gone if we don't do our part. Thank you Tony Johnston for this beautiful book, and Wendell Minor for the stunning paintings that accompany each page.
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This book is beautiful and draws the reader in right away with the title page: a stunning skyscape with the majestic sequoia and a mother owl with her three babies. I loved reading the book from the sequoia's perspective: "He opens his ancient, brittle arms and gathers one last crow" . . . "He watches the grove below slowly fill with light". As I read the book I kept asking myself how sequoia's are different from redwoods and to my delight the end pages share this information!
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Awe inspiring
Since childhood I have spent time sheltered under the great sequoias. This beautiful picture book has captured the spirit of these magnificant trees. Told from the viewpoint of an individual sequoia, the reader learns how the tree and the wildlife that depends on it, goes through each season. The paintings are beautiful and the author’s notes will hopefully spur a sense of urgency in protecting these magnificent trees. -
A picture book paean to the majestic sequoia. This beautifully illustrated and lyrical narrative tells the sequoia's story beginning from an acorn and growing through the seasons year after year. The notes at the back were very helpful explaining the differences between redwoods and sequoias and the impact of global warming. I especially appreciated the endpapers: the front with the acorns on the ground and the end with two children staring at the giant sequoia.
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This informational book uses poems that talks about a sequoia tree and how it is able to feel everything that is occurring around it, the different seasons, animals and event he day and night. Additionally the book provides information about this tree species and how it is able to grow hundreds of feet high and live for several thousand years. However, this magnificent tree is becoming endangered of extinction because of drastic climate changes.
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A poetic yearround look at the flora and fauna that share the soil with the mighty sequoia.
Gouache watercolor artwork is beautiful and features great lighting. I especially enjoyed the sepia toned front and back inside covers.
Back matter helps readers understand the differences between redwoods ans sequoias and includes a bibliography.
Nice read aloud for PreK-2. -
A giant sequoia tree is the main character of this breathtaking picture book. Studded with lyrical poetry about the four seasons, both the illustrations and the text provoke our sense of smell, touch and beyond. The luminous illustrations, some are double page spreads, wraps the young readers in the magnificent sequoia tree's all embracing arms. What a perfect union of illustration and text.
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Last week at the SLJ Day of Dialog in NYC,
Wendell Minor was on a panel and I was so pleased because I love his art. This book is just as beautiful as other books he has created plus I learned the difference between a redwood and a sequoia when I read the back matter! -
The poetry was stilted, and it was more mystical woo-woo than necessary. It could have been a much more enlightening and beautiful book, but instead of invoking awe, it just invoked confusion as I had to explain to my child who Merlin was and why he had something to do with a tree. (Especially a sequoia. Merlin would not be in a sequoia.)
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More of an ode to the sequoia tree than an actual nonfiction book about sequoias. However, would pair nicely and be a good read aloud if talking about sequoias. Also, Wendell Minor's illustrations are gorgeous.
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If you've ever visited the coast of redwoods, you'll swear they're more than big trees - they're ancient beings watching and knowing everything. This book captured that very cool, eerie feeling perfectly and was a giver of big-time chills!
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This homage to the giant sequoias of California invites young readers to imagine what it would be like to stand with one of these magnificent trees through the seasons. A stirring tribute to our state tree, with luminous illustrations and evocative poetry.
