Items related to Behold the Trees
In dramatic prose, Behold The Trees describes the trees that grew long ago in the land now called Israel. But that is only the beginning of the story. Over the centuries, the land was fought over, conquered, and reconquered. Built up and burnt down. Exploited and neglected. Until no trees would grow and the land became barren. And then the people began to plant again.
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Review:
"Trees. Leaves, twigs, branches, bark-covered trunks, roots going down into dark, damp soil. Shields for the earth against the searing sun and drying winds. This is the story of one land and its trees. It begins a long, long, very long time ago..."
From Publishers Weekly:
In Behold the Trees Sue Alexander and Leonid Gore paint a riveting, heartbreaking picture of the long, slow devastation of one piece of Earth--and the hopeful beginnings of its renewal. Alexander, in a mesmerizing litany, recites the names of the trees that once sheltered and protected the land in what is now Israel: "Oak and almond, fig and olive, terebinth and palm, acacia and pomegranate, willow and tamarisk." She then describes, in chronologically organized, heartfelt text, the thousands of years of wars, farming, building, burning, and neglect that contributed to the loss of the trees. Ultimately, she writes of present-day efforts by Jewish people of all ages to replant the trees: "one by one--hundreds and thousands and millions of trees." The litany has changed once again, but hope has been rekindled. "Cypress and pine, eucalyptus and acacia, orange and olive, lemon and pecan, oak and palm... They hold back the sea, cool the air, and protect the earth for the people and animals who live there."
Leonid Gore's dramatic illustrations, in acrylic and colored pencil, portray the souls within the trees, and the tragic history they share with humans. (Ages 6 to 12) --Emilie Coulter
Tracing the horticultural history of the land now known as Israel, Alexander (One More Time, Mama) delicately but powerfully implies a parallel between its trees of and the Jews who settled there. Beginning in 5000 BCE, she fleshes out a timeline that blends history and ecology to chronicle the cycle of bloom, destruction and renewal that has characterized this land over the centuries. She tells of "centuries of wandering the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," of farming and settlement, of occupations and wars, from the Babylonians and Romans to the Turks and the British. The land stands stripped of its timber until "no owls or doves remained to soar through the air or trill their songs." Rejuvenation begins after WW I, as Jews the world over save to fund the purchase of new trees, trees that have restored present-day Israel to its former beauty. Alexander's poetic imagery ("fires sent twists of smoke into the air") and elegiac refrains ("And no new trees were planted") are heightened by Gore's (Sleeping Boy) resonant, haunting pairing of shepherds and prophets, soldiers and settlers with the graceful flow and sweep of branches and leaves. He plants Corinthian columns of a conquering nation side by side with tree trunks, one of many visual metaphors that hint at the interconnectedness of life. Profoundly satisfying. All ages.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherScholastic Trade
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 0590762125
- ISBN 13 9780590762120
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages1
- IllustratorLeonid Gore
- Rating
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