The Tale of the Heaven Tree - Hardcover

Joslin, Mary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802851908 ISBN 13: 9780802851901

Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co, 1999

Synopsis

When the people of the world become greedy, the gardens created by the Great Maker are ruined, until a small child and a single ugly, wrinkled, brown seed show them the way back to the Great Maker's garden paradise.

About this title

About the Author:

MARY JOSLIN is the author of a number of books that explore questions of belief and spirituality, including The Goodbye Boat, The Minstrel's Tale and The Heaven Tree.

From Publishers Weekly:

Part creation story, part ecological fable, this eye-catching volume extols the beauty of the natural world and emphasizes the importance of preserving it. In the various gardens created by "the world's Great Maker," plants and beasts of every type flourish. Prairie gardens "rippling with grasses" and woodland gardens "deep in green moss and shyly nodding bellflowers" color the glorious landscape, while the "warbling and whistling, tumbling, trilling melodies" of birds fill the air. The humans, however, decide to develop more land and construct larger and larger buildings, and eventually the gardens are razed and devastated, the animals displaced, suffering or dead. A sole child, with guidance from the Great Maker, begins a regeneration of the gardens with one small seed. Joslin's (The Goodbye Boat) lyrical prose provides a portrait of paradise, and her deftly delivered message is likely to inspire young readers. But it is So's (The Beauty of the Beast: Poems from the Animal Kingdom) energetically patterned watercolors that instantly command attention. Airy, sweeping nature scenes feature wispy lines and loose brush strokes, while darker, crowded cityscapes feature intricate geometric designs. Varied compositions reflect the changing moods of the story: stacked panels show the exuberant coexistence of woodland, prairie and undersea "gardens"; lines of copy swoop to mimic the flight of birds; narrow text blocks are shoehorned next to equally narrow skyscrapers. So's light, playful style proves an ideal counterpoint to the story's sober undercurrents. Ages 4-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0802851908
• ISBN 13: 9780802851901
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 26
• Illustrator: So Meilo