TreeSong

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 0969385269 Gently celebrating the history and wonder of nature, Helen Stewart’s lovely book is itself a work of enchantment. The story tells of silent, unchanging forests and of the life history of one Sitka Spruce tree, home to numerous insects and birds. This timely tale chronicles the life of a Sitka spruce from before the arrival of the first European settlers until its stormy end under a changing climate. Despite all, the song of the Sitka lives on. Its story will compel children and adults alike to pause and contemplate the harmony of nature. Andrew Weaver, author and educator, team member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize) Helen Stewart’s TreeSong is a pastoral fable for today’s world, illuminated with richly textured and intricate, detailed images. We are called back to a time when all of nature was in balance and harmony, when the First Nations could hear the singing of the trees. We listen to the song of the Sitka spruce, a giant among trees growing in a giant rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. With the arrival of Europeans, the fable begins to darken. Marching to the beat of progress, deaf to the Earth’s rhythms, the newcomers clear the old forests and settle big cities. In time, industrialization generates serious problems for all the world. The ancient Sitka shatters in the ensuing global storm. Hope dawns when an instrument maker creates a cello from the tree’s wreckage and so revives the song of the forest. This fable ends on a hopeful note, resonant with ecological good faith. Each of us, acting alone or in concert, can learn to find ways of helping to restore the balance and beauty of our natural world. Dianne Chisholm, Professor of English literature and environmental writing, University of Alberta