Scan barcode
cweichel's review
4.0
These illustrations are bloody gorgeous. This is a fictionalized account of Julia Butterfly Hill's two year stint living in a redwood tree in order to save it, and other's like it, from being clear cut. She was successful. There is an aspect of fantasy to this story so it is a good thing the end notes clarify more clearly just how she managed to survive for so long in the tree.
mmattmiller's review
4.0
Once again, I learn through a picture book something I wish I would have learned in school! Why haven't I heard of this woman? This book makes me wonder, however, how true a story has to be to be able to put "true story" on the cover as opposed to "based on a true story". The cover implies this is completely true, but based on what I've done in outside reading, there are a couple of changes or misleading details in this book. Regardless, students will really enjoy this one, and will build a curiosity and interest in this person/event! (I witnessed it today in a classroom of second graders! They were engrossed in the story- full of questions and wanting to know more!) Definitely one I would add to my classroom library.
tashrow's review
4.0
This is a picture book version of the real-life heroism of Julia Butterfly Hill, a woman who lived for two years in the branches of Luna, a great redwood tree in order to save the grove from logging. In this picture book, Butterfly is shown as a girl rather than an adult. She spends many of her days exploring nature and then discovers Luna and climbs up into her branches. When she realizes that Luna is going to be chopped down, she stays in the branches. That starts her adventure high in the canopy where she has to withstand storms and cold. Butterfly stayed up in Luna for two years, figuring out how to make a home high in a tree and sharing Luna’s story with whomever she could. Until finally Luna and her entire grove her saved and made into The Luna Preserve.
As Kostecki-Shaw notes in her Author’s Note, she has simplified the political situation that the real Julia Butterfly Hill was dealing with as well as the initial response that included a group of environmental activists taking turns sleeping in Luna’s branches. This makes for a picture book that is easily understood by young readers and that hints at larger issues happening. It will serve to inspire young readers that they can individually make a difference in the world around them and protect what is invaluable to all of us.
The illustrations in this book are done in a variety of media including acrylics, watercolor and pencil. They capture the beauty of nature with dappled light through leaves, the texture of tree bark, and the dwarfed size of Butterfly against the world. They also delightfully show the other animals and creatures living in Luna with one magical page displaying a space inside her trunk.
A very special book about an environmental heroine, this picture book will be inspiring for young readers. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
As Kostecki-Shaw notes in her Author’s Note, she has simplified the political situation that the real Julia Butterfly Hill was dealing with as well as the initial response that included a group of environmental activists taking turns sleeping in Luna’s branches. This makes for a picture book that is easily understood by young readers and that hints at larger issues happening. It will serve to inspire young readers that they can individually make a difference in the world around them and protect what is invaluable to all of us.
The illustrations in this book are done in a variety of media including acrylics, watercolor and pencil. They capture the beauty of nature with dappled light through leaves, the texture of tree bark, and the dwarfed size of Butterfly against the world. They also delightfully show the other animals and creatures living in Luna with one magical page displaying a space inside her trunk.
A very special book about an environmental heroine, this picture book will be inspiring for young readers. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
More...