Published By: Two Hoots
Pages: 96
Released On: 01/06/2023
Illustrated By: Yuval Zommer
Inspired by the woods around his home, the mighty forests that support our life on Earth, and the Ted Hughes poem which gives this book its title, My Heart Was a Tree is a celebration, and Sir Michael Morpurgo’s love letter to trees.
There are stories from an ancient olive remembering Odysseus and Penelope, and from a eucalyptus that gave shelter to a koala; from a piece of driftwood that was made into a chair, and from a tiny sapling carried by a refugee as a reminder of home – these are poems and stories that will amuse, move and energise families and readers of all ages to appreciate the beauty and wonder of trees.
*****
Amazon says this is aimed at 6-11 year olds, and so at 30, I’m a little out of the target audience range, but I adore Michael Morpurgo’s work, even if they are normally aimed at children. He just has this way of words unlike anything else that transcends generations. And Yuval’s illustrations are gorgeous. I’m glad I got the independent shop version because it has a wall print in it, which is a good thing because otherwise I was going to have to make my own out of the book pages as they’re just beautiful.
I never used to be one for poetry. I think it was the years at school being forced to read quite difficult poems and then overanalysing them, that they became difficult for me to enjoy in my spare time. But over the past few years, I’ve really learned to love them, and I now have a small but growing collection.
We all know nature, and particularly trees, are vital for the enjoyment and survival of all living creatures, not just humans. But I think all the negative press around environmentalism and sustainability and global warming etc can scare people and we end up running away from it. But by encasing those messages into small poems and stories, with bright illustrations, aimed predominately at children, we learn to fully appreciate the importance of trees and we can start to enjoy the opportunities we have for saving them, rather than trying to ignore the problem.
I can’t really pick one poem or piece that I enjoyed more than the others because they all had their own feelings and story. But I had a soft spot for the short stories in the collection. They still have a poetic quality about them, and they’re just so full of heart and soul and passion and love.
The best way to describe this book is that it’s a love letter to trees and to nature and the wider world, and it couldn’t be more beautiful, and I would recommend it for every age group.
Books By Your Bedside 