Robin Bernard

A Tree for All Seasons focuses solely on a maple tree and the physical changes it endures every year during all of the four seasons. The pictures are all real, and beautiful photographs from nature. The author also includes what other lifestyle changes occurs with other plants and animals during the seasons as well. Overall, this book is a beneficial piece for students to get a visual sense of what each season looks like. This book can be a model for a writing assignment on the four seasons. show more It can be great for students to either pick one season and write changes that occur in nature during that season, and include a drawing. Another approach can be having students draw images of all of the four seasons and write facts about each season along with it. This can leave room for students to be creative and gain knowledge about each of the four seasons. show less

Observe the colorful changes of the seasons with Robin Bernard’s book A Tree for All Seasons. The book shows the changes of a maple tree and includes photographs of animals and people interacting with the tree as it changes with the seasons. The photographs by Richard Iwasaki of Tony Stone Images provide an accurate account as to what the same tree looks like during each of the seasons. I’m sure Robin Bernard’s interest as an art teacher influenced the incorporation of the excellent show more photos found in this book.
The reader of this book (written in narrative form) can experience looking inside a tree in winter to see a sleeping squirrel or seeing the bumps on a branch that will turn into buds in the spring. You can see the people making maple syrup. In the spring you can see the birds in their nests and the buds opening on the branch. The summer shows a squirrel eating the samaras growing on the tree and a child swinging on a tire swing hanging form a tree. The fall shows the change of color of the leaves and the squirrels burying nuts getting ready for the winter. Children are playing throwing the colorful leaves in the air.
The simple text and beautiful pictures makes this an ideal book for ages 4-8 (preschool to the third grade). This book would be great to use in the classroom to show the students the seasonal changes, and the study of trees. The students will enjoy seeing the children interacting with the tree during the different seasons. The children will also enjoy the humor showing a duck with a disgusted look with water pouring on its head as “spring…brings rain showers.” show less

I enjoyed this book. All of the illustrations and beautiful colors correspond great to the different seasons. I also like all of the facts that the author included in this book. She mentions all of the different things that animals do during each season, and what people eat during each season. I think this is a great book to read to children. The overall message is to inform the audience about the relationship between trees and seasons.

I liked this book a lot and is great to read to students when going over the season fall or for other seasons since it covers each of the seasons. It is informational and great for students to read. For example, in Kindergarten I would have read this during our fall time period since it goes along great with fall (trees).