WHEN TREE BECAME A TREE

The life of an apple tree, from tiny seed to proud parent.

Following the pattern of When Cloud Became a Cloud (2021) and When Moon Became the Moon (2023), Hodgson endows nearly everything in his bright cartoon illustrations, from seeds to sun, with a smiley face. He slips a fair bit of scientific information into the minimal narrative, which follows the growth of a seed that emerges from a decomposed apple (“Hi, I’m Seed!”) to a mature tree shedding apples of her own. Along the way, younger readers will gain insight into photosynthesis, learn how flowers turn to fruit as the seasons pass, and discover how roots absorb nutrients, serve as anchors, and, with help from fungal mycelia (“I’m a fun guy!”), communicate with other nearby trees. Though the notion that trees do eventually die goes unmentioned, the octogenarian Tree does drop a branch that provides “cozy homes for critters” until it breaks down to improve the soil. In one mini-chapter, select relatives, from rain forest durian trees to spiky pines, weeping willows, and bulbous baobabs, hint at the diversity of Tree’s “big, special family.” The human figures who appear in some scenes for scale are likewise diverse.

A beneficent view of growth and cycles in nature.