The Joy of Being Me, a Tree is inspired by a grand ole maple tree rooted at the entrance of our church’s youth center. The tree’s low limbs and long reach have invited generations of all ages to gather beneath her canopy and explore in her branches. In the comfort of her shade, adults lose themselves in conversation while watching their children circle up into her limbs, and youth cluster to mingle in the brinks of her shadow. Her essential role becomes clear as budding friendships blossom and community connections grow. Wondering what the tree would say if given an opportunity to tell her story, Susan Plenge gives this maple a voice to express her joy as she discovers her purpose in serving others where she has been planted. Come celebrate your purpose! As reflective as the servant's heart in The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and with the confidence in I’m Gonna Like Me, by Jamie Lee Curtis, The Joy of Being Me, a Tree captures the joy of discovering and embracing who we are called to be where we are planted. Intended to be a fun and imaginative read, the story of the tree comes to life through colorful words and illustrations. The Joy of Being Me captures the magical experience of a child first learning to climb a tree and the nostalgia felt by adults as they remember the sticky, sappy fingers and the fresh smell of leaves.
As The Giving Tree turns fifty, this timeless classic is available for the first time ever in ebook format. This digital edition allows young readers and lifelong fans to continue the legacy and love of a classic that will now reach an even wider audience. "Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy." So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein. This moving parable for all ages offers a touching interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return. Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave. This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein's incomparable career as a bestselling children's book author and illustrator began with Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back. He is also the creator of picture books including A Giraffe and a Half, Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros?, The Missing Piece, The Missing Piece Meets the Big O, and the perennial favorite The Giving Tree, and of classic poetry collections such as Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, Every Thing On It, Don't Bump the Glump!, and Runny Babbit. And don't miss the other Shel Silverstein ebooks, Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic!
From bestselling author of The Book of Delights and award-winning poet, a book of lyrical mini-essays celebrating the everyday that will inspire readers to rediscover the joys in the world around us. In Ross Gay’s new collection of small, daily wonders, again written over the course of a year, one of America’s most original voices continues his ongoing investigation of delight. For Gay, what delights us is what connects us, what gives us meaning, from the joy of hearing a nostalgic song blasting from a passing car to the pleasure of refusing the “nefarious” scannable QR code menus, from the tiny dog he fell hard for to his mother baking a dozen kinds of cookies for her grandchildren. As always, Gay revels in the natural world—sweet potatoes being harvested, a hummingbird carousing in the beebalm, a sunflower growing out of a wall around the cemetery, the shared bounty from a neighbor’s fig tree—and the trillion mysterious ways this glorious earth delights us. The Book of (More) Delights is a volume to savor and share.
Saving the Best Dance for Last tells the story of a young woman whose childhood experiences drove her into a circle that is one of the oldest professions in history, but the most unregulated social accretions in the world. Even though she was born and raised in the church, she was abandoned because of her conduct that didn't meet the standards of her religious community. And because of those childhood experiences she shares the emotional burdens of finding herself being trapped in an environment of deceit, loneness, rejection, anger, and depression. But after experiencing different levels of emotional turmoil, she hungers to find her way back home to Christ, and learning to know a greater peace that no man can give. Saving the Best Dance for Last offers solutions for people healing from emotional burdens of going through life hiding behind the mask of religious showcasing, and telling the truth of the emotion distress caused by living life behind the death of a parent, sexual and mental abuse, and religious abandonment, but in the end, learning the lesson of life that healing the scares within starts within ourselves.
One little girl has a very special friend, the tall ancient tree in her backyard. Through the seasons, she grows along with the tree, playing in its branches and basking in its shade. She can swing and have a picnic, draw the tree and play hide and go seek. Through her time with her tree, the girl learns to appreciate the natural world as something to be savored and protected and acknowledges her place within it. The Growing Hearts series celebrates the milestones of a toddler's emotional development, from conquering fears and expressing feelings to welcoming a new sibling.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex’s first children’s book, The Bench, beautifully captures the special relationship between father and son, as seen through a mother’s eyes. The book’s storytelling and illustration give us snapshots of shared moments that evoke a deep sense of warmth, connection, and compassion. This is your bench Where you’ll witness great joy. From here you will rest See the growth of our boy. In The Bench, Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, touchingly captures the evolving and expanding relationship between father and son and reminds us of the many ways that love can take shape and be expressed in a modern family. Evoking a deep sense of warmth, connection, and compassion, The Bench gives readers a window into shared and enduring moments between a diverse group of fathers and sons—moments of peace and reflection, trust and belief, discovery and learning, and lasting comfort. Working in watercolor for the first time, Caldecott-winning, bestselling illustrator Christian Robinson expands on his signature style to bring joy and softness to the pages, reflecting the beauty of a father’s love through a mother’s eyes. With a universal message, this thoughtful and heartwarming read-aloud is destined to be treasured by families for generations to come.
Art Wolfe’s immersive photos capture the wonder humans have felt about trees for millennia. From the biblical Tree of Life to the Native American Tree of Peace, trees have played an archetypal role in human culture and spirituality since time immemorial. An integral part of a variety of faiths—from Buddhism and Hinduism to Native American and aboriginal religions—trees were venerated long before any written historical records existed. Through the vivid images of legendary photographer Art Wolfe, Trees focuses on both individual specimens and entire forests, and offers a sweeping yet intimate look at an arboreal world that spans six continents. Author Gregory McNamee weaves a diverse and global account of the myths, cultures, and traditions that convey the long-standing symbiosis between trees and humans, and renowned ethnobotanist Wade Davis anchors the text with a penetrating introduction. Humans have always shared this planet with trees, and Trees by Art Wolfe is a breathtaking journey through and homage to that relationship and its past, present, and future.
In a time of uncertainty and devastation--from pandemics to environmental catastrophe--a call to action for finding beauty, creating art, and healing in community. When a beloved place is decimated by physical damage, many may hit the donate button or call their congressperson. But award-winning author Trebbe Johnson argues that we need new methods for coping with these losses and invites readers to reconsider what constitutes “worthwhile action.” She discusses real wounded places ranging from weapons-testing grounds at Eglin Air Force Base, to Appalachian mountain tops destroyed by mining. These stories, along with tools for community engagement—ceremony, vigil, apology, and the creation of art with on-site materials—show us how we can find beauty in these places and discover new sources of meaning and community.
For graduates, for their parents, for anyone facing change, here is a gorgeously illustrated and stunningly heartfelt ode to the challenges of growing up and letting go. A story of the seasons and stepping stones as poignant for parents as for their kids, from the creator of Otis the tractor and illustrator of Love by Matt de la Pena. "Long’s gentle but powerful story about a young tree who holds tight to his leaves, even as everyone else lets theirs drop, takes on nothing less than the pain and sorrow of growing up. . . . As in Long’s unaccountably profound books about Otis the tractor, a pure white background somehow adds to the depth."—The New York Times Book Review In the middle of a little forest, there lives a Little Tree who loves his life and the splendid leaves that keep him cool in the heat of long summer days. Life is perfect just the way it is. Autumn arrives, and with it the cool winds that ruffle Little Tree's leaves. One by one the other trees drop their leaves, facing the cold of winter head on. But not Little Tree—he hugs his leaves as tightly as he can. Year after year Little Tree remains unchanged, despite words of encouragement from a squirrel, a fawn, and a fox, his leaves having long since turned brown and withered. As Little Tree sits in the shadow of the other trees, now grown sturdy and tall as though to touch the sun, he remembers when they were all the same size. And he knows he has an important decision to make. From #1 New York Times bestselling Loren Long comes a gorgeously-illustrated story that challenges each of us to have the courage to let go and to reach for the sun. Praise for Little Tree * "The illustrations are beautifully rendered . . . Understated and inviting, young readers will be entranced by Little Tree’s difficult but ultimately rewarding journey."—Booklist, starred review "Long’s gentle but powerful story about a young tree who holds tight to his leaves, even as everyone else lets theirs drop, takes on nothing less than the pain and sorrow of growing up. Season after season, Little Tree clings to his brown-leaved self until he can take a leap and shed his protection. He feels ‘the harsh cold of winter,’ but soon grows tall and green, and it’s not bad at all. As in Long’s unaccountably profound books about Otis the tractor, a pure white background somehow adds to the depth."—The New York Times Book Review * "[Long's] willingness to take his time and even test the audience’s patience with his arboreal hero’s intransigence results in an ending that’s both a big relief and an authentic triumph. Long’s earnest-eloquent narrative voice and distilled, single-plane drawings, both reminiscent of an allegorical pageant, acknowledge the reality of the struggle while offering the promise of brighter days ahead."—Publishers Weekly, starred review "Long is sparing with the text, keeping it simple and beautifully descriptive. Brilliantly colored illustrations done in acrylic, ink, and pencil stand out on bright white pages, with Little Tree taking the center position in each double-page spread. Tender and gentle and altogether lovely."—Kirkus Reviews "Children will see the tree facing the scariness of change; adult readers may well feel wistful as the story underscores the need to let their babies grow toward independence. Beautiful. Grade: A"—Cleveland Plain Dealer
