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A Year around the Great Oak Edition 2 Expanded

Hardback
October 2019
9781782506027
More details
  • Publisher
    Floris Books
  • Published
    22nd October 2019
  • ISBN 9781782506027
  • Language English
  • Pages 40 pp.
  • Size 8.6" x 11.25"
$18.95

This new, expanded edition is a compelling combination of engaging story and educational information to delight and teach readers.  

Anna and Benjamin live in the city but love to stay with their cousin Robin in the countryside. Robin takes the children to see his favorite tree in the nearby forest—a 300-year-old giant oak. 

Each time the children visit, they are amazed at how the forest and the mighty oak changes with the seasons. In autumn, they build a cosy den in the tree's roots to watch the squirrels. In winter, they learn to ski in the shelter of the forest. In spring, they search the forest for animals. But some creatures can be dangerous, and one night, the old oak tree helps Benjamin when he discovers something he wasn't expecting . . . 

Join Anna and Benjamin as they spend the seasons with the great oak tree, and discover the fascinating plants and animals that live around it.

Discover new detailed and accurate illustrations and fascinating fact pages, alongside the wonderful seasonal story from Gerda Muller, creator of the beloved Seasons board books, A Year in Our New Garden and How Does My Garden Grow?

(Ages 4–7 years) 

“Gerda Muller writes with a lightness of touch that beautifully offsets her detailed and warmly realized illustrations. A beautiful book about discovering the wonder of the woodland and finding profound enjoyment in it.” —Children's Books Ireland Recommended Reads 

“If there is a nature-lover out there, this is the perfect book for them... All the pages are filled with beautiful illustrations of plants and animals that live in the forest throughout the different seasons. The last few pages of the book feature information of the life of an oak tree, how a tree eats and drinks, what makes their home in a tree, and all the plants and animals that live in a forest -- a wealth of information.” —Youth Services Book Review, 5 Stars 

“A Year Around the Great Oak is a beautifully and elegantly detailed seasonal story from author and artist Gerda Muller that includes the animals and birds that live in the great oak's forest.” —Midwest Book Review 

“A gentle tale of children exploring the natural world whenever they are together. The illustrations—of gouache, colored pencil, and graphite—have the nostalgic appeal of mid-twentieth-century Golden Books, with people, plants, and animals rendered in a way that imbues them all with sweetness.... Following the story is the new material—twelve pages of further information about woodlands in lovingly illustrated detail.” —Kirkus Reviews 

“This is an exquisite work of art with a timeless quality...a must for all libraries and schools.” —Carousel 

“Unpredictable, stimulating and ultimately confidence-inducing...Gerda Muller, whose work may be familiar from her other nature-imbued children's books (Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Where Do They Go When It Rains?), draws each activity and animal with great detail and attention. Leaf shapes are accurate, and the picture of the children making their hideout from sticks and leaves is as good as a scouting manual; for readers with access to woods this could prove to be a useful as well as a handsome book.” —New York Times 

“A must for every child's library and for any teacher looking for fictional works to support environmental education in the early years.” —UK National Association for Environmental Education

“With gorgeous illustrations and an engaging story, Gerda Muller takes us into a forest where we get to be a part of Great Oak's magical world for a little while. Young readers will appreciate the simple adventures that the children have in autumn, winter, spring and summer when they visit the tree.” —Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Reviews

Gerda Muller

Gerda Muller was born in 1926 in Naarden, Holland. She attended the Fine Arts School of Amsterdam and Ecole Estienne of Paris. She has illustrated over 120 books for children and her books have been translated into many languages. She is the illustrator of the Seasons board books, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, A Year Around the Great Oak, and Where Do They Go When It Rains? (all Floris Books).