In this environmental chapter book, first-time author Gabrielle Jonas gives voice to our plants and animals in a plea for their protection, while keeping anthropomorphism to a minimum. There is nothing fuzzy or cute about Jonas’s animals, whose lives and deaths are rendered in realistically stark detail. Her main characters are self-interested, competitive and sometimes cruel, but must evolve just enough to take a tree to task who, in the process of pulling up roots, disrupted their ecosystem and rendered creatures homeless.
Exciting action, lyrical and rich language, complex characterization, and accurate naturalistic detail render When the Tree Flew an unexpectedly engaging read for young adults, who will be so engrossed in this green adventure, they'll hardly notice how much they're learning about ecosystems and evolution. But learn they will, as the tree’s prosecutor and defense attorney duke it out employing arguments via survival of the fittest vs. maintaining the balance of nature. Mature readers will appreciate the sly references to well-known politicians, scientists, actors and even philosophers and architects.
Stephanie Ayres' expressive illustrations evoke the beauty of the Florida swamp and her animals and plants even while maintaining scrupulous naturalistic accuracy. Michael Rothman, whose illustrations often elucidate articles in The New York Times Science Section, provides an exciting cover illustration capturing both the thrill and destructiveness of the story's pivotal action: when the tree first pulls up roots.