Luna & Me: The True Story of a Girl Who Lived in a Tree to Save a Forest

by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw (Illustrator)

Overview

Once there was a redwood tree--one of the world's largest and tallest trees, and one of the oldest. And once, born nearly a thousand years after the tree first took root, there was a girl named Julia, who was called Butterfly.

When exploring her beloved forest, Butterfly wandered into a grove of ancient trees. One tree had broken branches and a big blue "X" on the side. It was going to be chopped down. Butterfly climbed up into the tree. A tree wouldn't be cut down if it had a person living in it. This is the story of Julia Butterfly Hill and Luna, the redwood tree she lived in for two years, never once coming down. That is, not until Luna's future was safe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780805099768
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	05/12/2015
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	66,302
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw is the author and illustrator of My Travelin' Eye. She is a freelance illustrator who studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and The Illustration Academy. She lives in the mountains of Northern New Mexico with her family.

Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw is the author and illustrator of My Travelin' Eye. She is a freelance illustrator who studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and The Illustration Academy. She lives in the mountains of Northern New Mexico with her family.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for My Travelin' Eye:

From the Publisher

There is considerable usage potential here, from art projects to classroom community projects to diversity awareness projects. . . . There's also plenty of pleasure to be found just in sharing the thoughtful story and perusing the artwork.

BCCB

Young readers will close the book longing to have a friend from another place; for schools with global partnerships, this will be a go-to book for introducing these projects to classrooms.

The Horn Book Magazine

Winning.

Booklist

2015-01-20
A nature lover called Butterfly saves a redwood by living up in the tree for 738 days. Basing her story on the actual experience of forest activist Julia Butterfly Hill, a young adult whose tree-sit took place from December 1997 to December 1999, Kostecki-Shaw reimagines it as the tale of a young girl and a tree with bright eyes and loving arms. Aided by friends who provide supplies and take away her waste, Butterfly braves a storm and the changing seasons, imagining the appreciation and support of the tree they call Luna. Butterfly shares her experience with the world through letters and radio broadcasts. She climbs to the treetop, explores every branch and meets the other tree-dwelling creatures. One dramatic spread shows a cave within the tree's trunk, where she finds ferns, berries, birds and even a fox. The mixed-media illustrations use acrylics, watercolor, salt, pencil and collage. Vignettes and panels suggest the passage of time, and penciled comments provide a soundtrack as well as imagined conversation between girl and tree. Two spreads require that the book be turned; these emphasize the tree's height. In spite of the title, the narrative is in the third person, perhaps reminding readers that this is based on an actual experience described in the author's note. A gentle introduction to environmental activism for the very young. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Review