Whose Tree Is This?

Whose tree is this? / Reaching high, spreading wide, / this oak, so gracious, so spacious, / giving gifts throughout the year. / Acorns for eating, tree crooks for nests, / leaves that shelter many guests.

Explore an oak tree through poems written from the perspective of thirteen animals—including caterpillars, chickadees, orb weaver spiders, cicadas, katydids, big brown bats, screech owls, springtails, blue jays, squirrels, black bears, crows, and people—that rely on it for food and shelter. Readers will discover that the oak, a keystone species, belongs to all of the animals. Sidebars written in prose provide additional information about the ways each creature relies on oak trees as well as how these trees benefit the environment.