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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607003331751 | Picture Books | KERRIN | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
"Together, artist and author affectingly construct The Better Tree Fort that has little to do with its exterior, and everything to do with the love contained within." -- Shelf Awareness, STARRED REVIEW
"Let's build a tree fort," Russell says to his dad when they move into a house with a big maple tree in the backyard. His dad doesn't know much about building, but he gamely follows Russell's plan. Several trips to the lumber store later, the tree fort is done. There is no slide, balcony or skylight like Russell imagined, but it is perfect -- right up until he notices another tree fort going up three houses over.
When Russell goes over to investigate, he meets Warren, whose bigger tree fort has castle turrets and working lights. Russell is in awe until it dawns on him that it's not worth worrying about who has the better tree fort when he has a loving dad there to build one with him.
In this subtle, humorous story, Jessica Scott Kerrin explores the idea of keeping up with the Joneses -- and what that means when you're a kid with a tree fort. Qin Leng's lighthearted watercolor illustrations show the unshakeable bond between a father and son, as well as the delightful details of two tree forts.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Author Notes
Jessica Scott Kerrin is the author of The Things Owen Wrote, The Spotted Dog Last Seen (finalist for the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award and the John Spray Mystery Award) and The Missing Dog Is Spotted. She is also the author of the picture book, The Better Tree Fort (illustrated by Qin Leng), and is known for the Lobster Chronicles series and the bestselling Martin Bridge series. Her novels have been translated into French, Turkish, Russian and Slovenian.
Born and raised in Alberta, Jessica now lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Qin Leng lives and works as a designer and illustrator in Toronto. She graduated from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and has received many awards for her animated short films and artwork. Her picture books include Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegaki (APALA Award, Governor General's Literary Award finalist); Away by Emil Sher and A Family Is a Family Is a Family by Sara O'Leary (both USBBY Outstanding International Books); When I Found Grandma by Saumiya Balasubramaniam (Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award finalist) and I Am Small, which Qin has written and illustrated. Visit www.qinillustrations.com .
Reviews (1)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-When Russell and his father move into a new house with a giant maple tree, a tree fort is on the top of Russell's to-do list, despite protestations from his father who knows nothing about building projects. Russell crafts a truly excellent list of must-haves, including a balcony, slide, and skylight. After several trips to the lumber store, a tree fort emerges. Though it looks nothing like the one the boy envisioned, he thinks it is perfect, and Russell and Dad bond over a sleepover. Then, three houses down, a boy Russell's size oversees construction of a bigger more beautiful fort with turrets and working lights, "so large, it blocked the sun." Russell is not perturbed by the more impressive tree fort and muses to his new friend that there is probably an even better fort somewhere else. This tale of father-son bonding is a fun Father's Day read, cute with a capital "c," but also monotonous and uneventful. The watercolor illustrations are nice but add little to the text because they do not demonstrate the most exciting parts of the story or take advantage of moments that might have been humorous. It is heartwarming when Russell declares Dad's tree fort perfect even though it doesn't meet his original requirements, but this newfound sagacity and respect for his dad is not substantiated by the story's content. Leng's watercolors are beautifully delicate but so muted that their child-appeal is low and sometimes somber, though the ink sketches have whimsy and delightful details. VERDICT This simple read-aloud with a sugar-sweet, feel-good ending is an additional purchase for most collections.-Lauren Younger, New York Public Library © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.