My Heart was a Tree: Poems and Stories to Celebrate Trees by Michael Morpurgo and Yuval Zommer - #BookReview #poetry #poems #stories

 

The poems and stories in this book have been written because, every day that I can, I go for a walk in the bluebell woods behind our house. I know every one of the trees I pass. They hear me coming, they listen to me. I listen to them, to the whisper of them, the roaring of them, the creaking of them. 

One story above all the others, imspired me to write about trees. It is The Man who planted Trees, by Jean Giono, about an old shepherd in the hills of Provence who makes it his life's work to create a forest high on the arid rocky slopes where very little grew.

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Discover the beauty and wonder of trees in this stunningly illustrated collection of poetry and stories celebrating trees and what they mean to the world around us . . .

Inspired by the woods around his home, the mighty forests that support our life on Earth, and the Ted Hughes poem which gives this book its title, My Heart Was a Tree is a celebration, and Sir Michael Morpurgo's love letter to trees.

There are stories from an ancient olive remembering Odysseus and Penelope, and from a eucalyptus that gave shelter to a koala; from a piece of driftwood that was made into a chair, and from a tiny sapling carried by a refugee as a reminder of home – these are poems and stories that will amuse, move and energise families and readers of all ages to appreciate the beauty and wonder of trees.

Yuval Zommer's beautiful, detailed illustrations bring the natural world to life, and make My Heart Was a Tree a book to pore over for hours and hours, discovering something new each time.

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This book is perfect in every way. Not only does it contain a gorgeous selection of poems and stories by Michael Morpurgo, but it also has the most delightful illustrations by Yuval Zommer. The collaboration between a best selling author and an award winning artist guaranteed that this book would be something rather special.

Written in celebration of trees in all their forms - it is a book very relevant to today's environment. It looks at the impact that trees have on our lives, in our communities as well as in the wider world.

I shared a couple of these poems with my six-year-old grandson and he enjoyed listening to them very much. The illustrations support the text perfectly and it made for a wonderful opportunity to create memories for us both.

If I had to choose a favourite from this superb collection it would have to be the poem, Driftwood. It tells of the nine lives lived by this tree and begins:

This chair was born where I was born,

In the forests of Nova Scotia,

About a thousand years ago.

Maybe more, who's counting?

It is a delightful poem which goes on to tell of its journey.

I highly recommend this collection of poems and stories. Regardless of whether you have a child in your life to share this with, it makes for lovely reading and I can envisage dipping back into it periodically.

ISBN: 978 1529094794

Publisher:  Two Hoots

Formats:  e-book and hardcover

No. of Pages:  96 (hardcover)

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About the Author:

Sir Michael Andrew Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. 

Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the Second World War, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. 

He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were invested a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to youth. In 2003, he was advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2004. He was knighted in the 2018 for his services to literature and charity. 

He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

About the Illustrator:

Yuval Zommer graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Illustration. He worked for many years as a creative director at leading advertising agencies before becoming the author and illustrator of highly acclaimed non-fiction. Yuval has sold over 2 million books worldwide and been translated into 30 languages.

Yuval's stunning Big Book Of... series (Thames & Hudson) has won and been shortlisted for numerous awards including the UKLA Book Awards, The English Association's Nonfiction Award, and the Made For Mums Award. The latest title, The Big Book of Belonging, published in September 2021.

My Heart was a Tree (Macmillan), written by Michael Morpurgo, is Yuval's newest title which beautifully explores the life of trees, what they mean to humanity, to animals and the world around us. This highly anticipated book will publish in June 2023.

Yuval also writes and illustrates a seasonal picture book series for Oxford University Press - The Tree That's Meant To Be, A Thing Called Snow and The Lights That Dance in the Night. The Tree That's Meant To Be was named a Sunday Times Book of the Year.

(ARC courtesy of NetGalley, author photo and info from GoodReads and illustrator photo and info from Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency)

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*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.