Three Tall Trees

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Enigma the crow keeps watch over the forest and its inhabitants. From
his perch at the top of a tall tree, he has witnessed many weird and
wonderful happenings. However, none have been as strange as the
“war” involving the three tall trees Jacob, Paul, and Elijah Ali.

Very big and very close together, they are always arguing and bumping
each other; each tree is convinced of his own superiority. The continual
strife, with its “smackedy thwack and whackedy smack, and smackedy
thwackedy whack,” begins to take its toll on the other forest
creatures. No one is safe from the constant strife, until one day Enigma
reminds the three tall trees of a very important fact—they are all
connected by a common root.

David Weale’s fable, written in verse, will appeal to primary-grade
readers. With its lessons of tolerance, appreciating individual
differences, getting along with others, sharing, and the futility of
war, the book would be useful for generating discussion of these issues
with young audiences. Dale McNevin’s darkly coloured illustrations,
especially those depicting the warring trees, accurately reflect the
mood of the text. Recommended.