Amazing Trees is a lovely colour illustrated book, to introduce young readers and everyone else to the extraordinary trees that share our planet. Bringing to life key topics like adapation, ecosystems and habitats, discover bite-size facts that bring alive the magic of the natural world. Learn about beautiful (but deceiving) smelly trees, the cannonball tree (with built-in ammunition) and how trees send messages to each other, to stay alive.
If planting trees, learn how to make gardens safe for pets (know trees to avoid near horses (including yew and oak). For indoor trees, avoid facing indoor foliage to gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows.
Keep away from grey/white caterpillars (oak processionary moths that cause allergies and breathing difficulties – contact a doctor/vet if in contact). Also cordon off affected trees from livestock and horses. Mostly found in London in warm weather, report to your council and Treealert.
The Lives of Trees is a beautiful and interesting book to teach children about the trees we share our world with. With fascinating illustrations on the anatomy of trees, this book is suitable for readers age 8 and up. The book provides basic knowledge about vital functions of trees and the structural characteristics of their many parts. Children will discover how trees are born, eat, drink, breathe and sleep. Plus how they defend themselves (and sometimes attack), reroduce and in some incredible cases – move!
The Secret Life of the Forest helps children discover (with the help of Little Seed as a guide) the interconnected world of trees, animals and fungi in this fun illustrated book. Discover hidden wonders of the forest from majestic trees to a bustling community of animals and fungi that call it home. And uncover the web of connections that sustain this vibrant interconnected ecosystem, where each creature has a vital role to play, so all work together.
discover the extraordinary world of oak trees
Oaklores: Adventures in a World of Extraordinary Trees is a wonderful debut book looking at the wildlife and nature adventures that go on within the branches of our majestic oak trees. The author’s infectious enthusiasm shines through in chapters that open with excerpts from oak-y poems, plus tips on connecting with nature, recognising birdsong and helping butterflies and moths to thrive.
What connects Robin Hood, the history of ink, fungi and Shakespeare? The answer is in this book, as the author explores the incredibly diverse history of the ‘king of the woods’. From a source of food and shelter to its use in literature, the oak tree’s role is an essential ingredient in ink (and in mythology across the British Isles).
Meet trees along the way like Sherwood Forest’s Medusa Oak or the gargantuan Marton Oak in Cheshire. Join the author on an unforgettable journey through the tangled roots of the oak’s story and that of our country itself. The author’s surname (Action) actually means ‘oak town!’ And she lives near Robin Hood’s former home of Sherwood Forest!
learn how to read a tree!
How to Read a Tree is a book to discover the simple principles of shapes and patterns you see in trees, and what they mean. Each tree we meet is filled with signs that reveal its life and the landscape it stands in. The clues are easy to spot if you know what to look for. You’ll learn rare skills that can be applied each time you pass a tree, whether you are in a town or wilder spot. Trees can tell us about the land, water, people, animals, weather and time. And about their lives.
Tristan Gooley is an award-winning author who has pioneered a renaissance in the rare art of natural navigation. He is the only living person to have sailed and flown single-handed across the Atlantic and has also studied the methods of tribeal peoples in some of the world’s most remote areas.
how well do you know your trees?
Here’s a quick list of the main species of England’s trees:
- Alder & alder buckthorn
- Apple
- Ash
- Aspen
- Bay
- Beech (common or copper)
- Birch (silver or downy)
- Blackthorn
- Box
- Blackthorn
- Cedar
- Cherry (bird, cherry or wild)
- Cedar
- Crab apple
- Cypress (lawson or Leyland)
- Dogwood
- Elder
- Elm (English, field, Huntington or wych)
- Eucalyptus
- European larch
- Douglas fir
- Guelder rose
- Hawthorn (or Midland hawthorn)
- Hazel
- Holly
- Hornbeam
- Horse chestnut
- Juniper
- Lime (common, small, large-leaved)
- Maple (field or maple)
- Monkey puzzle
- Oak (English, holm, red, sessile, turkey)
- Olive
- Pear (or Plymouth pear)
- Pine (black or Scots)
- Plane (very common in London)
- Plum (or cherry plum)
- Poplar (black or white)
- Rowan
- Spindle
- Spruce (sitka or Norway)
- Sweet chestnut
- Sycamore
- Walnut (or black walnut)
- Wayfaring
- Western red cedar
- Whitebeam (or arran or rock whitebeam)
- Wild service
- Willow
- Yew (or Irish yew)