12 Days of Picture Books Blog Tour Day 4 - Little Tree {A Review}

Welcome to my first review post in the Penguin Young Readers 12 Days of Picture Books Blog Tour. I am thrilled to be participating in this event during this holiday season. What better gift to bestow upon your child(ren) than a book (or many books) to instill the love of reading. Not only will I be sharing reviews of some great children's books (6 to be exact for this blog tour), but you will have the opportunity to go over to the Penguin Young Readers Facebook page to enter to win some awesome books for your kids.

I invite you to stop by my intro post to see the list of the books that are a part of this great celebration.

Today I would like to share my review for Little Tree by Loren Long.

This story is about a little tree that lives in the middle of a little forest. He loved his life among the other little trees, enjoying the forest animals that spent their time in his branches. He also loved his leaves that kept him cool during the hot summer days.

Unfortunately, he loved his leaves so much that he was afraid to let them go when autumn came. While his fellow trees were losing their leaves, he hugged his tightly to himself. The animals questioned why he didn't drop his leaves and encouraged him to do so, but he refused.

The forest creatures were concerned about him not losing his leaves as the seasons passed. They wondered if he was sick, and continued to encourage him to let his leaves drop. Alas, the little tree continued to hold onto his leaves, preventing himself from growing as all the trees around him had done. Sadly, as the years went by, he no longer had forest animals stopping by to play in his branches, and he couldn't hear the dove's song anymore. He looked like a dead tree in the middle of a forest of big, strong, healthy trees.

Finally, as he looked up, he contemplated the fact that the other trees had once all been his size. He finally gained the courage to let his leaves go and embrace his future. Yes, he had to deal with the harsh cold of winter, but as the seasons changed and the years passed, he finally reached his full potential. He was again among his tree friends, and the forest animals once again wanted to scamper and play in his branches.

Surprisingly, this book touched me more than I thought it would. I have always been afraid of change, but change is a part of life, and this book is a wonderful reminder of that fact. Little Tree was afraid of the unknown, even though he saw his friends growing and thriving, he stubbornly clung to what he knew. It took not being able to feel the sun, or hear the song of the doves, or feel the tiny little feet of his friends to make him gain the courage to do what he should have done all along.

Little Tree by Loren Long contains a wonderful lesson for children. Though change will come and it might be scary, you can't cling to the past, you need to let it go and embrace your future. It is okay to grow up, that is what we are meant to do. Changes should be looked upon as opportunities to grow.

This profound message is told through simple text and charming illustrations. The author/illustrator created the pictures using acrylic, ink and pencil, resulting in bright, bold images upon a white background. I enjoyed seeing the way the author/illustrator included the animals in the story. You can see their concern and confusion on their faces, and you can feel Little Tree's abandonment as the animals move away from him. However, when he finally decides to let his leaves drop and starts to grow, the animals surround him once more.

Little Tree by Loren Long is another wonderful addition to our library and one I highly recommend.

Don't miss your chance to win 1 of 4 copies of Little Tree. Just head on over to the Penguin Kids Facebook Page.

Though I won't be posting a review every day of this blog tour, I hope you will remember to head over to their Facebook page to enter to win the books that you are interested in. Be sure to stop back here to see my reviews for:

• I am Amelia Earhart 
• Llama Llama Gram and Grandpa
• The Nonsense Show
• The Book With No Pictures
• The Day the Crayons Came Home

Also, be sure to check out the Penguin Young Readers Holiday Gift guide where you can build and share your own wish list from a huge assortment of kids’ books for all age groups.

Here are the participating blogs!

Sleeping Should Be Easy
House of Burke
Homegrown Friends

Growing Up Madison
InRandom
Crafty Moms Share
Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Inspiration Laboratories
Clarks Condensed
Book Rock Betty
Kid Lit Frenzy
Bored Mommy
The Delightful Life
Reads and Recipes
Omazing Kids
KidsCreative Chaos
The Chirping Moms
Hello Happy
Spark and Pook
Fun Handprint Art
Mama Smiles
Craftulate
Imagination Soup
Tots and Me
Design of the Picture Book
Gravity Bread
Creative Family Fun
Future Flying Saucers
Mrs. Karle's Sight and Sound Reading
JaMonkey
Coquette Maman
Growing Book by Book
A Little Bit of Everything
Happily Ever Mom
Little Earthling
The Little Tourist

Disclosure: I received a hardcover copy of Little Tree by Loren Long in exchange for my honest review as a part of this blog tour. No further compensation was given. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.