I love big, coffee table-sized books that are full of luscious illustrations. If a book has interesting and well-written text to go along with those illustrations, so much the better.

Enter Trees: A Rooted History, by Piotr Socha and Wojceich Grajkowski. I originally intended to just leave this around the house and hope my kids would pick it up and read it, and they did page through it once or twice, but I wasn’t getting the engagement I was looking for. After I read part of a page myself, I decided it was too good to leave to chance.I put it on the pile of books we read from each day for school, and starting reading it aloud, three page spreads a day, with the intention of using it for science.

Trees: A Rooted History includes trees’ ancient history, cultural significance, growing habits, and uses. A truly thorough book, there are pages on the religious significance of trees, record-holding trees, and even the figurative use of trees as a way of tracing our human lineage. It was such a wonderful, interesting, and thoughtful book. Each page was a treat. The whimsical illustrations seemed to be gazing out at us, and the text was on point. The author  did an excellent job of choosing ideas to explore that lent themselves to illustration. The pages that covered ideas about trees you’ve probably encountered before (like seeds and leaves) are done in a unique way, and the book also considers aspects of trees that you might not expect, like the section on wooden instruments.

Unlike so many Eurocentric or America-focused “histories” of the “world,” this gem gives real attention to the East, Africa, and Australia, showcasing the amazing trees from those regions. Yet, surprisingly, we also learned the world’s oldest petrified forest is in Gilboa, NY, just over an hour from our house. We plan to do a field trip there once the weather improves.

Intended as a science book, I was able to also count this one towards music, art, and history. I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would, and the kids liked it, too.

This was not my first book about trees. Here’s another wonderful one.