Rise to the Sky

Starred review from March 27, 2023
Hirsch teaches basic plant biology through the example of the world’s “tallest living thing”—trees—in this awe-inspiring text. Employing rhythmic repetition, careful prose first juxtaposes coast redwoods, giant sequoias, Sitka spruces, and the like with other entities, including the Statue of Liberty and a blue whale. Turning to trees’ beginnings as “old stumps” or “seeds/ as small as a ladybug,” Hirsch highlights the supporting role of air, food, sunlight, and water in the trees’ lives, which are sometimes thousands of years long. Washed in earthy browns and vivid emerald greens, Posada’s expertly rendered cut paper collage provide texture that feels touchable—an approach well suited to the close-up imagery (including detailed insets) of bark-covered trunks, jagged-edged leaves, and seedlings bursting from soil. A vertical spread offers an emblematic, energetic wow moment as the trees rise “up,/ up,/ up/ to the sky!” Extensive back matter includes activities. Ages 5–10.