16 Aug Review: Mother Aspen
Mother Aspen
Written by: Annette LeBox
Illustrated by: Crystal Smith
Groundwood Books, 2024
ISBN: 9781773069357 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781773069371 (eBook)
$22.99 CAD (hardcover)
$16.99 CAD (eBook)
32 pages
Ages: 3 to 6 years old
Review by: Alexander Slack
I love storybooks that show just how magical the real world can be, and Mother Aspen is a dedication to the complexities of the natural world. The story shares information about fungal networks in the roots of trees and which forests use to communicate with one another. It centres the falling of the oldest tree, the Mother Aspen, but details how nature shares knowledge and how she will still contribute to life through decomposition. Nature, animals, and ecology are at the heart of this story book, with beautiful, full-page illustrations of forest landscapes. Every page is dense with visual texture through the leaves, bark, and foliage. The narrative itself is for more advanced young readers, as there is some tougher vocabulary, but all children will enjoy finding the animals in the forest.