Middle grade novel Big Tree by Brian Selznick (published 2023) tells the story of two sycamore tree seeds (Merwin and Louise) using a mix of illustration and text. In their journey from seed to tree, they encounter dangers as well as other creatures, including a butterfly, small microscopic creatures in a seashell, a seaweed, ferns, mushrooms/fungi, and so forth. From the extensive illustrations, the reader learns that these seeds are living during the time of “giants,” which are dinosaurs. The seeds hear the story of the earth from mother earth herself.
The rich illustrations were an intriguing connection between the text. It helped to show just what the seeds and other creatures looked like. Wordless scenes conveyed the truth about the “giants” being dinosaurs and the “scientists” being microscopic creatures. Also, when Merwin learned from Mother Earth about her history, the wordless illustrations explaining the Big Bang were the most interesting to me. Just as the illustrations are integral in other books by Brian Selznick, the illustrations in this thick volume were essential to telling this story about the natural world.
Without spoiling the ending, I’ll just say that this ancient story comes full circle and may still resonate with the reader today. I did sincerely appreciate the author’s note at the end about the science of the book. I feel I would have benefited for a bit more clarity as I was reading. Although I cannot say I liked Big Tree as much as I enjoyed Hugo Cabret, for example, it is a strikingly different story so comparison is somewhat unfair. I’d love to know how the child reader appreciates this story about the interconnectedness of nature. Will they enjoy it more than I did? Or, does a deep and abiding love for nature make Big Tree a more compelling read?
