The Tree and the River

Rhys

Castle East Readers

Alfie

Castle East Readers

We loved reading this wordless book together. As a group we told the story that we could see in the pictures. We noticed how the landscape changed as mankind built homes and used vehicles. We also noticed that the tree and the river changed over time - sometimes because of human civilization and sometimes changes in nature. Most of all, we noticed the cycle of nature and from this idea, our own stories about nature's cycles began to form ...

Year 5 and Miss Love

Castle East Readers

Lucas

Castle East Readers

Grace

Castle East Readers

Grace

Castle East Readers

Jonas

Castle East Readers

Lucas

Castle East Readers

I like this book because it is caring about the envioment and how there is hope in a big world. I like how strong books are without words.

Rebecca

Alexandra Readers

The Tree and the River is a wonderful book that has no words because it lets you cooperate with the pictures to make your own story. Aaron Becker is very clever with his illustrations because of the reflections on the front that show the future. I love this book and I am happy that the book won. I really think that this is the best book without words in the world (sorry to the other illustrators). I recommend this book to people who like futuristic books, and books without words. I also recommend this book to adults and children 2+ because of the inspiring artwork. 🌳

Annabelle

Latymer Prep Shadowers

Eva

Alexandra Readers

I really enjoyed imagining about the tree and the river. The art work is astonishing. Also, I imagine that you wrote words. Your idea was amazing.

Danish

Our Lady of Lourdes

The Tree and the River is a stunningly illustrated book, a wordless book. Just beautiful images, as the Tree and the River survive different times and tragedies together as the world changes before their eyes. From sparkling green grass to broken down brick buildings, the Tree and the River still stood together, strong and sturdy. Aaron Becker shows each image with unanimous perfection and detail, however many times I read it I still gasp at the beauty of each page. When I watched Aaron Becker’s video I was shocked at his dedication to the book, which he spent ages on, and he crafted the most stunning clay models, of each page, of each period of time. He took photos of them and added his pencil drawings to it and edited all of the illustrations with hours of effort. In the end, his perseverance paid off and made the most extraordinary book. I would recommend it for ages 6+. An 100/10 from me!🌳♥️

Leyla

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is the best picture book I have ever read! It is a Timeline of a Tree that survives for many centuries. The detail in the drawings are INCREDIBLE and I love how Aaron Becker really cares about the lines on the grass, the leaves on the trees that are on the mountains. I find it really inspiring that he never gave up with this book, as long as it could of taken him. I would recommend this book for people who love nature and the cycle of it. I would suggest this book for ages 6+. A 10/10 for me. 😃

Taicia

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The tree and the river is a book about a tree that lives through lots of different timelines and the two things that always stay in the drawing is the tree and the river being the name of the book. The book goes through ages like The industrial revolution. And at the end the tree lets a seed flow down the river and starts the cycle all over again. I really like the illustrations in the book because they are very detailed and unique and also I like the fact how the drawings are set in the same place but also are all different which shows lots of things can be in the same place. 10/10 😀

Josh

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is a wonderful book on a tree by a river and how the world is changing with climate change and water rising. The book has no words in it which I really like because it makes it different and less ordinary. I love all of Aaron Becker’s illustrations. I think Aaron is a very smart illustrator. By doing this he is expressing his feelings and what this book means to him. This book is so beautiful. The drawings of the people are so brilliant he is just such a wonderful illustrator. I would rate this book 10\10 and for ages 7+.😄

Fred

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The tree and the river is a magical story that depicts a powerful message about our environment. This story has no words, so that the reader can focus on the astonishingly detailed illustrations and nothing else. I love how each double page spread tells a new story, a new period of time. We can see how society moulds nature into buildings, cities and other modern equipment, and yet the people don't realise the harm that they're doing to the nature surrounding them. Even after all the ups and downs the tree and the river survive the harm and chaos together…. I also love how the natural hues of the background can easily change the readers approach towards the different periods of time: I noticed that the faded neon shades and advanced building with a modern aspect on some pages constitute the future, and that the natural colours with huts made from materials like hay and wood, represent the past. On the whole, I would recommend this wonderful book to all nature lovers, ages 9 and over. A 10/10 from me.

Angelica

Latymer Prep Shadowers

This book was one of my favourites from the moment that I opened the cover. I loved the illustrations because of how much they showed in a single picture.It is an amazing book because it is so different from the other 8 books. I think it won the Carnigies because of the amount of meaning in each of the pictures. I also liked that every time you turn a page a civilisation is growing and then it falls down like the civilisation got wiped out. The book shows that nature will live much longer than any civilization. I also like that the tree and the river have a friendship. The illustrations are really good and I love how he thinks everything through before he draws or paints it. I also like how uses water colours to suit his needs. I think that is one of the reasons why He won the Carnegie medal and the shadowers medal. I would rate this book 9/10 and recommend it appropriate for ages 7+

Ada

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The meaning is in pictures. This book has a really deep meaning behind all the intricate illustrations and has taught me that you learn a lot from what you see. I love how Aaron Becker shows how the landscape changes over time and tells us how we ruin it without noticing. The front cover might be my favourite illustration only because I love that you can see a city in the reflection on the river. I also really enjoy the pink clouds which look perfect to sun-bathe on. The river and the tree symbolises life throughout time and how it has developed. This book is incredible and definitely deserves to win. A book for all ages and 10/10, well done Aaron Becker!

Elodie

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The tree and the river is a wordless book that has a strong meaning. It shows the difference of the world is evolving and that now people are littering and not showing enough care to the environment. The story is very powerful on how the environment is changing and that it is based mostly on the tree and the river, it wants you to look close at the tree and the river.

Peter

Alexandra Readers

The tree and the river is a wordless book, telling a story of different people and civilisations setteling around the tree. Aarron Becker has been very clever in these illustrations showing the cycle of life. At first the tree stands tall but you’ll notic in the background a tree stump lays further downstream. A couple pages later this stump disappears. When the main tree dies, it turns into a stump and the new tree sprouts, a few pages later the old tree stump disappears demonstrating the cycle of life. What I loved about this book was the detail each page displaying different lifestyles giving each person in each civilization their own story. In my opinion this book definitely deserved to win because the amount of hard work and detail was immense. I recommend this book for ages 5+ and would put a side 20 mins to read it as the is a lot of detail and mini stories to understand. I rate this book a 10/10.

Ollie M

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree And The River is an amazing wordless book with wonderful landscapes. I love how Aaron Becker used 3D clay models to draw these astonishing pictures. I realised that his models were very detailed and must have taken a lot of time and effort,just for one single book. I also really like how Aaron Becker doesn’t just talk about his book in his video, but gives a tour of the island he is on and talks a lot about what inspired him and what he had to do to make this marvellous book show a tree slowly growing. I recommend this book for all young children including reluctant readers and I rate this book 10/10!😃

Iris

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is an absolutely amazing book and possibly my favourite out of the eight. The illustrations are insane and somehow the wordless book manages to tell a story by only using pictures! Even though the main characters are a tree and a river, through colours they can still display emotion. If you pay close attention you may see how the end kind of restarts the book, as if it were an infinite loop. Also if you look at the illustrations you might notice that when the tree dies and the river gets smaller the civilization ends, but when the tree lives and the river gets larger, the civilization keeps thriving as if sadly the tree or the river both can’t find peace. This book may be quite hard for a younger audience to really understand so I’d give it the age rating of 9+. This book is the greatest of the eight, 10/10.

Niam

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree And The River is a book with no words but only pictures. In the Tree And The River every time you turn a page the civilization grows bigger and bigger and more and more advanced.On each picture you can find out so much about every single civilization and how they live.I loved The Tree And The River and I am not surprised it won the Yoto Carnegies.12/10,3+.🌳😀

Xander

Latymer Prep Shadowers

Wow! A stunning book with a stunning story. The Tree and The River is a book about a tree and a river living through thick and thin, highs and lows, ups and downs, lefts and rights, curves and turns (you get the point). The illustrations are captivating, and you never stop finding things. The more you look, the more complicated it gets! My favourite bit is how Aaron Becker paints light. It looks real and glowing! I would recommend this book to anyone who is between the ages of 0-200, and lives in the Milky Way, since all it is is pictures with no words! 9/10 is my rating for this book. 👍

Maya K

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The tree and the river is an amazing book that conveys a message without any words. I love how detailed the illistrations are and how everything is so detailed from tiny leaf to a massive tree. i also really like how the illistrator on the cover put the reflection of a city in the future. I would give this book a 8/10 and would recommend it for people 7+. 😃

Srishti

Latymer Prep Shadowers

This book is about a tree that grows as civilization grows. I really, really, really enjoy this book because this book was a beautiful detailed book with amazing illustrations. In this book the tree and the river travel through time and in the end the tree dies and the civilization also dies but the old tree grows a new tree and civilization is born again like an infinite loop. I love how there are no words because the tree the tree can kind of show its emotions through its posture. I recommend this book for 4+. I rate this book 15/10⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🤩🤩🤩

Boyuan

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is a beautifully illustrated book by Aaron Becker. I’m lost for words just like the book, the details, the colour. It's just so amazing. I love how on every page there are lots of details and people minding their own business. I also like the way he drew the past , present and the future. I enjoyed how even though the tree died it’s child still has another story to tell. I recommend this book to anyone like literally it’s so beautifully illustrated ∞/10.

Benjamin

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree And The River is an exceptional book about a tree and it lives for a very long time but then dies and has to spread new seeds to reproduce. I love the way Aaron creates his illustrations by using clay,photoshop and heavyweight watercolour paper. It is very interesting to see the behind the scenes of making let's say even one is so fun to see as well. I really like the way it is one tribe then another and so on and to see how other people think how one tribe settled even not being there to see it so it is great imagination too. I love the way it is mostly a picture book so everyone can see or read the pictures because in my opinion pictures say more than words.🥰🤩😍😀

kit

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is a book too good for words. Literally. This book doesn’t even need words because the pictures say so much. The colours are absolutely perfect displaying the life of this tree first as a sapling and at the end of the book the tree dies, replaced by another. The ultimately detailed pictures are so simple yet so deep. We see the world as it progresses through time, the world gets dirtier and dirtier until it takes a miraculous recovery for the better! Perfect for ABSOLUTELY any age who likes to dive into the pictures to learn more in the intricate details. An absolute 10/10, no doubt. 😄

Eva

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is an amazing story that portrays a powerful message of "don't kill all we have" and that message really stands out to me. I don't know how to put it into words so this is the best explanation I can give, the colours and drawings are quite abstract but if you look far away they look very detailed. I will give it a 8/10.🌳🌊😼

Rose

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is a beautiful book about a single tree who survives for many centuries. The reason this is one of my favourite stories is because the detail is terrific and even though there are no words, it tells a brilliant story! I love what Aaron has done and is no wonder he won the medal for illustration. This is a story worthy of high praise. This is a 0+ and a 10/10🤩🥳🏞️

Ben 5S

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree And The River is an exquisitely made, wordless book which has many amazingly created hidden clues. At the surface, the book might look like it is very simple but if you dig a little bit deeper, you can find some astonishing results! You can see civilisations grow and die with a turn of a page. In this extraordinary book, you can see the infinite cycle of a tree life cycle. As the villages turn to towns, and the towns turn to cities, only 2 things remain. The tree and the river. Every page the tree grows a tiny bit more until it dwarfs the houses and buildings in the modern times and the future. However, one day, the tree starts to die. All hope is lost until an acorn grows. I love how Aaron Becker has cleverly made the dying tree at the end, the dying tree at the beginning. You can get information from nearly every illustration and some things you discover can blow your mind. 10/10. 5 stars. 100%. I would recommend this book for anyone over 7 years old so that they can really enjoy this book.

Zain

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The tree and the river is an amazing and outstanding book about a tree standing next to a river meanwhile different eras pass.I loved the detailed pictures and you can really tell that Aaron Becker really spent his time carefully drawing all the details. This book also shows that his pictures make the words themselves since this book does not have any words.I was really interested in this kind of detail as I have never seen it before.This book really caught my eye, i would give this book a 10/10 and would recommend it to any age.😆

Maxim

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The tree and the river is a wordless book about a tree and a river. The tree is dying as more people start to build. And eventually it is a dead tree stump. But the tree dropped an acorn and from that acorn grew a new tree. In the front cover in the reflection of the tree you can see all the buildings instead of the natural world. I like this book because it shows us how much buildings are destroying the beautiful nature. I also like it because it doesn't have any words and so it lets you see the story without explaining it. This book goes through day and night. My favourite page was the last page because it shows us another tree growing. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves nature. 10/10!

Nadia

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River have some of the most amazing illustrations I have ever seen on the front cover. You can see in the reflection of the river the future.This book is all about humanity and nature all the way through the ages and how we can live with nature but also destroy it at the same time. My favourite scene is when you can see humans playing with the tree on the last page.I would recommend this book to all people aged 10 years and over and I would give it a 7/10.

Reya

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is a beautiful book about a beautiful landscape that changes through time. I liked this book because it has no words but the pictures tell us so much. THe book’s characters are so small but they seem to all have such big stories each. I liked all of the illustrations. THey were very detailed and I’m not surprised that it took so much time to create. I think the age rating for this book is 3+. I’d give this book a 9.5/10😊

Emilie

Latymer Prep Shadowers

This book is one of the best picture books I have ever read! It is about a tree and its fellow friend, the river. Together they embark on an unforgettable adventure through time, experiencing the good and the bad. I love the idea of having a book with no words. I think it really expresses things more. This is because, in the pictures there is more to learn, see and notice. For example, if there were words in this book then some of the important details and changes wouldn’t be seen. I also think that the illustrator really thought about the message he was trying to say from the pictures. Some people might not notice, but the message from this is that you should take care of the things around you and be mindful. He was really creative when he was drawing the future. But, he wouldn’t draw the future for no reason, so I think he wanted us to notice that if we continue like we are now, then everything will go. So we need to change our attitude to nature and the wonderful world. A good age for this book is 4+. If you like nature and learning about things evolving through time, then this book is for you! 8.5/10 from me!

Tara

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is a book about a tree's journey across time. The Tree and the River is a very meaningful book which shows how people in the past cared much more about nature than now. The river is a witness to the tree’s suffering. The book shows how civilisation is ignoring nature and climate change is flooding the world, which is shown in one of the pictures. I would recommend this book to 8+.

Pedro

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is a beautifully illustrated book and a lot of effort has been put into it. The book is about a tree’s life cycle through time and how it gets affected by the surroundings. My favourite illustration in the book is on the 4th double page spread because I think the illustrations are most detailed on this and the vibrance really catches my eye. I love how the changes of the tree’s appearance makes me feel a variety of emotions. I would recommend this book to people who love nature and art and are over 6 years old. 11/10 from me. 🤩

Abir

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree And The River is a magnificent book about a tree and a river going through time. This book is very different from every other book as it has no words, just pictures. I love all the highly detailed pictures as it shows how us as humans have an impact on the world around us and how our actions can affect the environment. It starts out very calm and peaceful but then war comes and everything is destroyed. I love how every person has their own personality. I love how it starts off with a small civilisation and then becomes a huge bustling futuristic city. I will rate this book a 10/10🌳and🌊

Daniel

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and The River is a book of only pictures. It follows the tree’s life through time, and the humans around it evolving, from settlements being developed, to futuristic cities. It’s beautifully illustrated all the way through, and shows all the details and changes of the building and even the people are detailed. I’d recommend it to people who appreciate great detail like me, and I’d rate it 10/10.

James

Latymer Prep Shadowers

I really, really enjoy this book especially because it is a beautiful book with detailed descriptions. In this book a Tree and a River travel in time and in the end the tree dies but grows a new tree and it starts again. I like how there are no words and the detail is exceptional as it makes the illustrations wonderful. I would recommend the Tree and the River for children who love detailed images and ages 3+.I would rate this book 10/10.😆

Victor

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The tree and the river is a wordless time - lapse of a life cycle of a tree and a river. The illustrations show a wordless world as time passes. Aaron Becker's use of colour is perfect. Everything just clicks together in a harmonious way that is simple, yet difficult. It is a portrait of nature in a landscape. The illustrations are trying to tell you something, without words. "The big changes are actually loads of little changes." We see the way time progresses from early civilizations, to the present and the future. This book explains how humans can impact the world in all the good and bad ways with a series of landscapes. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves looking at small details. Overall, a 10/10 for me. This was a beautifully illustrated story.

Maya M

Latymer Prep Shadowers

This is an incredible book about a Tree and a River and their journey through time. I think this is a brilliant book because the illustrations are so detailed and that there are many stories to follow throughout the book. The book is also great to spot everything and look at all of the architecture. I think this is a great book for children to get their imagination going and to create their own stories within the story. I would rate this incredible book 11/10h

Louis

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The tree and the river is a masterpiece about humanity going through hundreds upon thousands of years building next to a tree and a river. I love this book because it is unique to the other books because some of the other books had words meaning that most smaller children might have trouble reading the other books. In this book however anybody can use it 5 stars 10/10

Jasper

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree And The River is a spectacular picture about a tree and a river ageing through time.This picture book is different to other picture books,this one actually has no words.I think the reason why there is no words is because Aaron wanted to highlight the tree and the river.Something I love about the illustrations is that he puts so much time and effort into every single picture.Also,the illustrations are so detailed and realistic it makes me feel like maybe that is what the world will look like.I would Recommend this to people 5 and above because if you want to understand the meaning of the book you need to be a bit older.I would rate this 10/10 because it’s such a beautifully illustrated book.

Oliver S

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is a picture book about a tree and a river going through time. This book can really show us what we are doing to our world and it is not what we want. It starts off with a very peaceful countryside, then the humans arrive and build some basic settlements. As you flip through the book, you can see the progress of civilization and you can see how we are destroying our beautiful planet. What makes this book so special is that there are absolutely zero words. You may think that without words, the book may seem quite basic and boring but Aaron tells a whole new story through the pictures. Aaron’s drawings are all very intricate and I love the absolutely stunning landscapes and all the miniscule characters each doing their own thing. Aaron Becker has made the drawings all so realistic and it made me feel very sad thinking that this might happen to our world if we don’t try hard to save it. At the end of the book, all the city freezes over and everything dies, apart from one tiny acorn. Using boxes and vignettes, Aaron shows how the cycle starts again and how something as small as an acorn can end up transforming the landscape. I would recommend this to any age as it is very simple and easy to read and I would definitely give it a 10/10!!!!!!! 😃

Liberty

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree And the River is a beautiful and very detailed wordless book about the story of a tree and a river as they grow for many centuries and millennia. The illustrations in the book are amazing and they really show the detail of the past, present and future. The main theme of this book is journeys. My favourite part of the book is the first page because of the old and broken-down car in the background. The reason I like that is because it feels like human civilizations are on a rotor. The car could have come from a generation before the new civilization but the new less advanced civilization has not noticed the car. My other favourite part of the book is at the near end when the old and dead tree drops the acorn and flows down the river and settles into the ground not too far away and creates a new tree. I like that because it feels like the world is regenerating after the destruction that the humans caused. I would recommend this book to 3+ because it is easy to understand and I would rate it 10/10.

Olly J

Latymer Prep Shadowers

The Tree and the River is a great book about a tree and the river going through time with different settlements and civilisations. The story is full of intricate illustrations but no words! The process of the drawings really impressed me because he used real models to help him draw. I would recommend this to anyone of any age and especially if you like landscapes. This book is a 8.5/10 but it would have been better if it had words (even though it is a picture book).

Jensen

Latymer Prep Shadowers

This book has now won the Shadowers and the judges medal for illustration. My favourite part is the cover page; what you first see is a tree and a river with a few deer but if you look into the river the reflection is different and looks more man-made. I think the storyline is very interesting and unique as there are no words. On the back of the book it says; Mighty oaks from little acorns grow. I think that is very inspiring. In this book we can also see how humans impact the environment very strongly. I really enjoyed going through this book and seeing the life of this singular tree through time. In total I would recommend this book to 3+ and I will give it a 9/10.

Eleonore

Latymer Prep Shadowers

This is such a beautiful book, even though it has no words. This book has inspired me to have hope in everything you do or say even the smallest details can mean a lot. I love this book so badly I want to order it!

Alivia

Malvern St James

Can I just say how amazing this book is! First of all it is so heart warming, I love how it sends the reader an important message. I love how you can tell what the story is about without words. It made me feel happy, sad and mad. I just loved it.

Maddie

Malvern St James

Because there were no word, it was hard to understand but then I looked closer and realised what it was actually about.

Georgina

Malvern St James

A great book. 🤩

Psalm-Vernet

SMM Bibliophiles

Sam

chatterbox

I really liked this book! It is really powerful because it shows the human impact on the tree and the river.

Evie

Southborough Shadowers

A time-warping lapse of a tree and a river. It shows the changes around the tree as civilizations rise and fall.

Psalm-Vernet

SMM Bibliophiles

Paris

Alexandra Readers

I liked this book, because there are not to many words and no hard words. I thought the pictures were brilliant. My favourite bit was the ending when she turns back goes no and then she finds the jellyfish.

Theo

St Andrew’s Primary Academy

I like the tree and the river because there was lots of detail and colour 10/10.

Jake

Holy Trinity Rothwell

My favourite book is the tree and the river because I see the progress in the timeline and I personally think this book is like real life times

Seth

Holy Trinity Rothwell

The tree and theRriver has no words but the illustrations tell the story instead. It is a beautifully captured timeframe but would love it even more if it told more of a story with words too.

emily

Lionel Readers

The Tree and the River is a very interesting book because if you look through the book you could see that the town/city is growing and developing; then it starts deteriorating. But the fact that there are no words or sentences is sort of a problem in my opinion because if it any of the words and sentences then it would have been easier to understand why this was happening.

Nour

Lionel Readers

I really loved the book because it explains how a tree stayed in the exact same location for a large variety time. The illustration was very understandable and clear with the beautiful landscape. It is also very good that it can tell a story with just a particular amount of pictures.

Dario

Lionel Readers

I really liked the book even though it doesn't have any writing the illustrations of the book were understandable. It was very interesting to read and it was very fun to look at. I like to look at the tree change over time and the buildings and landscape changing. My favourite part was when the buildings started to increase.

Adam

Lionel Readers

I read this book to my six years old brother. He said the book had really good pictures.

Jaedha

Archbishop Temple Carnegie Award group

This picture book shows the cycle of an oak tree through a beautiful and colourful timelapse, and shows the journey of human and of the land through detailed illustrations! 7/10

Jewel

Archbishop Temple Carnegie Award group

I don’t think I would recommend this book as I found it hard to get what it was trying to tell me. I also don’t think a young child could work it out. However my favourite page was the one were the acorn falls from the tree. 2/10

Mya

Rebel Readers

I like this book because it tells the story without any words and I like the details. 5 stars

Connor

Holy Trinity Rothwell

I loved the detail of the tree. I wish the author could teach me how to draw like that.

Esther

Holy Trinity Rothwell

I liked about this book is how the transition from just one house to a whole city

Talant

Holy Trinity Rothwell

I loved the illustration. The presentation perfectly captured the image.

Isabelle

Holy Trinity Rothwell

The pictures in the book are so interesting. It looks so good when they changed through the pages of artwork.

Sam

Holy Trinity Rothwell

The pictures in the book are so interesting how they changed through the pages artwork…

Keegan

Holy Trinity Rothwell

I love this book especially when it drops the acorn and a new tree grow it gives me a key message on live can carry on when it is tough. This is my favourite book

Jacob

Holy Trinity Rothwell

I liked this book because it’s showing the change in time and how it can be affected during a time period.

Zack

Holy Trinity Rothwell

I like how the place and the tree changes over time

Harley

Holy Trinity Rothwell

This book was really good, I liked how you had to figure out what was going on. All the pictures were really nice too! :)

Layla-Rae

Holy Trinity Rothwell

All

Gullane Primary Lunchtime Book Group

The Tree and The River is an interesting book as it has no words, only pictures. That means you really have to look closely at all the tiny details and make up your own story about what you think is happening! The illustrations are extremely detailed and the ending is uplifting! The book ends with the start! A new tree has grown beside the river and there is hope. I would recommend this book.

Michael

Rebel Readers

This book is verry memorable. The book makes me feel that people should not destroy the planet with buildings and plastic. The way they are dawn are immaculate the shading on the pictures are amazing. It is so unique. The front cover has beautiful sketches and meaning to it. The pictures have a meaning and it dose not need words. The pictures flow through the book. It was so sad that the tree is gets old.

Fleur

Malvern St James

I liked the detail in the pictures. Each picture was double paged and you could see clearly how the tree changed over the years and how it was impacted by the humans decisions. It has no words but I could follow the story by looking at the pictures. This was good because I could make up my own words and spend more time looking at the pictures. It is a memorable because the beautiful drawings explain the powerful message. It seems to have a sad ending but there is hope because an acorn drops to make another tree. This book made me think and I really enjoyed the book.

Ophelia

Malvern St James

I like how there is no words and shows it in pictures which is unusual.

Kodhai

New Hall Prep Readers

I really enjoyed this book. The detail of the illustrations is amazing. It is like a movement of time and it could be in the past or in the future. I would give this book 10/10

Emilie

Rebel Readers

This book is a very happy book the tree and the river who stay together when it went from a village with lots of farming, through a war and then into a huge city. It is very good as it shows you that you only in need two things to start something magical, a tree and a river. However, the best bit of the book for me was when the acorn fell off and a new tree was born! i That made me very happy! I would rate this book 7/10

Ciarrrai

Rebel Readers

We read the book very quickly and I loved the idea. The location starts with nothing and it builds it’s way up to a massive city, then it becomes a wasteland and the cycle restarts. When we went through it again a bit later we noticed all the details, the rainbow on the corner representing hope, the reflection in the water on the front page and the tree, always there and always watching. 5/5 stars, I would definitely recommend!

Poppy S

Norwich High School Bookworms

The Tree and the River was a wonderful book. I love that the tree and the river are with each other from the very start and that even through massive changes they are always together, even when they are separated. I love that in the story you only need one acorn to make a new tree so the tree and the river get reunited. I give this book a 8/10

Lily

Rebel Readers

I would love to share this book with anyone because it is a very touching story. The book makes me feel very wholesome because it is about a tree and a river ageing through time until the tree dies, and a new one grows. I really like the pictures because they are very elegant.5/5 I love the look of the pictures. I think the front cover is extraordinary. I looked at the whole book and it is 5/5.

Maarya

Malvern St James

Made me feel wholesome! Exceptionally good pictures. The front cover tells a lot about the book. The title is good but could be better. I had to read it twice to understand. If I had to give it a rating, I would give it 4/5 or 8/10 Really liked it, I would recommend this to someone in younger years. I will remember this book. I liked the style as well; I would give the style a 4/5 wish there was more about the river though./

chloe

Malvern St James

The book is sad but heartwarming. I love the illustrations, but it was a bit scribbly. 3/5. The book is a tree through time. I think that if it had writing it would have spoiled it.The pictures really make the book come alive!The book is really memorable.5/5. Really good use of images. 5/5. It is really beautiful that a new tree comes at the end of the book

Elin

Malvern St James

I really liked it, as I loved the way it changed over the years. It’s makes me think of history from the Stone Age to now. It made me think about how the city changed the world and how we need to look after the world.

Theo

St Andrew’s Primary Academy

I would recommend this book because you can make your own story with it. You can read it many times and make up a different story! It shows what is happening to nature. And the illustrations are calming and pretty.

Rhea

Bispham Bookworms

It is a very nice book. It is a picture book and has a happy ending. It is about a tree and a river and it maybe about deforestation or war and what the world might look like in the future when all deforestation is done but we won't let that happen to our precious planet.

Ela

Alexandra Readers

The illustrations were good but it would be better with words. The story was also really good.

Albert

Alexandra Readers

boring because there was no words in the book and i wanted it to explain it a little bit, even tho the pictures were bright and the illustrations were amazing

PARIS

Alexandra Readers

I like how it tells the whole story just using pictures! I didn't know that was possible! I like how it's like a circle because humans come and build houses and then they go. Then, more people come! I think it's a really good book and it shows people's influence on the wildlife.

Amber

Barrow Bookworms

The book was amazing. I liked the fact there were no words and we got to see so many different parts of history or the future. It was hard to tell! I would rate this book 10/10

EMILIE

Rebel Readers

The Tree and The River is a beautiful silent book with adorable pictures and incredible details. I recommend this story to all ages.

Joshua

Bispham Bookworms

best book ever such detail and nice pictures and they really describe the title 100/10 over all best picture book ever an lovely colour contrast i LOVE IT !!!

joe

West Buckland Shadowers

Amazing illustrations, it tells an spectacular story and shows the story of rebirth better than any other book, these books are incredibly rare and eye opening.

Hector

West Buckland Shadowers

Incredible illustrations

Evie

West Buckland Shadowers

Love this proper picture book with loads of detail and texture. A great success!

Ellie

West Buckland Shadowers

I like how it leaves you in your own world of imagination. I really like the meaning behind it very modern and well thought out. Beautiful illustrations and overall I think it is a very heart touching book. 100/10. Absolutely amazing book.

Edward

West Buckland Shadowers

Very good pictures and i like how it progresses from just a shed to a massive castle then back down again it represents how life can be up and down

Edward

West Buckland Shadowers

very good because it shows how the world is going to be.

Nik

West Buckland Shadowers

The book had lots of details on it. On one or two of the pages, it had a lovely shimmering effect, which I thought was beautiful! Also it had lots of little people in the drawing. I loved the illustrations.

Matilda

Barrow Bookworms

I think this book is about the circle of life and how nature and civilization can thrive in unison, together instead of one or the other. The tree and the river are the building blocks of the civilization and they should be able to live in harmony.

hugo

Roche Readers

This is a lovely story of life moving forward and there are no words in it as there are no words to describe how wonderful the illustrations are. I also love on the front cover there are trees and nature but in the reflection there is a city were the trees and nature are.

Delilah

Roche Readers

A beautiful book, about growth, life and rebuilding. The tree was always there, sitting beside the river, and even when the tree dies, it creates another one, which a new civilization grows around. It was an interesting detail that the reflection in the river, on the front cover is the advanced civilization, where the real image is before the civilization appeared.

Rapha

Roche Readers

I loved all the illustrations, everybody in my group had different idea about what happened. it was very sad but I loved it!

Astrid

Roche Readers

I really liked The Tree And The River because I like stories that are told by illustrations because I love drawing and I'm not the best at reading .P.S. I really think The Tree And The River should win.

iola

WJS Book Club

I loved this book and how the tree grew and followed the river that made it bring itself to life. I loved how all the pictures tied together.

Morgan

Woore Book Club

'The tree and the River', is a great book. I love how the colours stand out. I think that the book is more for teens because I don't think children will get it. I love how there are no words it makes your imagination think. I would reread this book. I rate this book 8.5-10

Ailise

Rebel Readers

'The Tree and the River' really stands out to me the images are really bright. I really like how there are no words in the book so the images tell a great story, but also you can make your own story up. I rate this book 9/10

Ailise

Rebel Readers

YP

Back to the Drawing Board

YP

Back to the Drawing Board

YP

Back to the Drawing Board

I liked all the pictures and how the tree is in every picture but also how in every picture the river is in every picture too. The book made me feel really happy and really sad because of how the tree was changing and how it came around again !

Hattie

Woore Book Club

It was magical but there were no words

Hashim

BurlingtonBookReaders

I liked the tree and the river because it is very creative and it reminds me of nature and there's loads of trees and grass and we see it evolve over time.

Nathan

BurlingtonBookReaders

Mrs Birkett’s Class

Stanwix School

Mrs Birkett’s Class

Stanwix School

I like The Trees and the River book because it shows the river life . I would give it 8/10. This book should be from 5-10 years old. I like the pictures because it tell the story . They are very detailed and interesting pictures. It tells a good story because there are different objects and thing on each page . There a message in the story - that is to be kind to the earth.

Megan

Barrow Bookworms

I thought the book was really good. The illustrations were pretty much perfect and told the story beautifully. I found a hidden meaning from the book; it was if humanity develops too much, everything could come crashing down. You do not have to be able to read to enjoy this because there are NO words, just pictures.

Declan

Barrow Bookworms

I liked the illustrations in this book. I really liked how the whole cycle of the tree started over again. This book really shows how big of an impact people have on the environment. I loved how there was no words in this book, which meant that the illustrations had to tell the story, and I thing the illustrator did this very well. I rate this 9/10.

Jennifer

Rebel Readers

I like the design of the city and the artstyle used throughout this book

Ornella

Brooke Weston Book Busters

I love the illustrations. I love that someone has written a book with drawings instead of words. I also love that in this book, every page is a new era, looking into the past and the future. I love that it shows that even if someplace changes a little bit, you must remember that it will always be the same place. And if something burns down it can be restored again.

Nanna

BurlingtonBookReaders

I really liked The Midnight Panther because the illustrations are amazing and the book sends the message that you are perfect the way you are and you must feel happy with the way you are without changing who you are. 100/10!

Ines

BurlingtonBookReaders

This book is brilliant! It tells the story of time and all the changes and it is a story without words. I really enjoyed the colourful illustrations and thought it was amazing that every page looked like a different civilisation through the many generations of life. My favourite pages would have to be pages 17-18 and the front cover. Pages 17-18 had beautiful colours and I loved the futuristic style. The front cover really told you, in a subtle way, what the book was about, with the reflection on the water showing you that land changes over time. 10/10 :)

Emy

Rebel Readers

I really liked this book as it has a really feeling to it and the illustrations are outstanding. I have no words, like the book and the illustrations are just beautiful. I love all the various colours of green as they go so well together. My favourite part is that on the front cover, the reflection of the river, mimics the future. With all the buildings and towers, this book was probably one of my favourites, ever! I think Aaron Becker should be very proud of himself for such amazing illustrations. You can tell that a lot of thought, time and effort went into this book 100/10 if allowed!

Eimear

Rebel Readers

It was a good book. The story behind it was that the tree was still there and the time changed into the past and the future. The pictures were really arty and it was very nice. I would say all ages can read this book. Basically some parts were sad and some parts of the book were about the future and some were about the present time. I really enjoyed this book I think this is my favourite book so far. In addition is also says that humans changed the present time into the future time and that the tree survived all along, that was the story behind it.

Nicola

Brooke Weston Book Busters

I really enjoyed this book because it had lots of different types of pictures. However, it didn't have any words as it lets you imagine what is happening.

Narina

Brooke Weston Book Busters

It’s an amazing book and towards the end it was very emotional and the author has done an amazing job.

Theo

Witham St Hughs Readers

Chloe

Lionel Readers

10/10 the best book I've ever seen! Not a single bad thing about it. This book is inspiring, not everything needs to be shown in words. I am dyslexic and found this book helps me to understand about the steam pump world and cyclical nature of the world.

Alec S

BurlingtonBookReaders

The Tree and the River is a great illustration book for older children. It shows the past, present and future. The cool thing is the main tree is always there in every illustration. Everything changes, as does the tree, but the tree is there right to the very end. It is a heart-worming story, which I did not think was possible with no words at all. It really tells a story of change. Even without words, you can understand what's happening perfectly. I really liked it.

Chloe

Lionel Readers

This book is a dystopian book for older kids showing the life of a river and a tree over time. I think it is set in the future. It has a lot of detailed illustrations and is a wordless picture book and as lots of detailed artwork inside. The book calm me and I like that the pictures allow you to make up the story without the author giving you the words.

Issy

Lionel Readers

10/10!! I LOVE THIS BOOK! I like this book because of all the detailed pictures and how even when there are no words you can still understand what is going on because of the amazing illustrations. 5 stars!

Ayra

Lionel Readers

I really liked this book's illustrations especially the start and the purple city. We think that it's a dystopian book for older children maybe 9+.It has detailed illustrations and it is wordless and all you have to do is actually observe the pictures. Also the more you look the more you can see.It has a really good meaning.I rate it 5 stars.

Adam

Lionel Readers

The tree and the river was amazing. The opening was spectacular and it felt like your were apart of the story of the tree. The illustration was so good it looked like the tree and all of the backgrounds were real . I loved the ending where the acorn falls and grows a new tree and the old tree disappears then the process begins all over again. I probably read it about 50 time it was that good. The backgrounds were fantastic like castles and boats and farms etc. and then it all resets and starts over again. The styles were shocking and the colors are so vibrant. The books cover was so pretty and the front cover made me want to choose this book. I definitely recommend this book to people of all ages and the memory and message of this story made my heart ache .

DAVID

Rebel Readers

The Tree and the River is a wordless picture book that reflects how humans have adapted over time. Like Charles Darwin, I think the author believes in evolution. The book images how the battle between humans and nature is everlasting. For instance, on the front cover there are two sections reflected. The first represents how the world was before humans. You can see only nature: animals, trees, you can see the sky is blue and beautiful and the air is fresh. However, the second half of the front cover shows what the world looks like after humans arrived. There are buildings and factories. You can see a plane flying over them. The air looks polluted and the sky looks dull. There is only one tree. I give this book 5 stars *****

Harmony

St James Hatcham Book Club