The Tree With No Branches by Johnny Knew

Title: The Tree With No Branches
Author: Johnny Knew
Illustrator: K. Von Ward
Publication Date: September 24, 2012
Length: 23 pages

The title character in this story is a little tree that doesn't have any branches or leaves, living in a forest of big, beautiful trees. The other trees make fun of it, but while they're putting all their effort into growing their big, leafy branches, the tree with no branches is growing deep, strong roots. So when a big storm comes along, the little tree is better able to weather it than the big, proud trees.

There are some parts that are a bit awkwardly written in order to make them the right length for the poem, like "They were looking for shelter from all of the wind", but I've definitely seen much worse. Overall it reads well.

The illustrations are great. They're clear, but also really detailed. The tree with no branches is just adorable, and I liked how the other trees had different characteristics depending on the type of tree. They reminded me of the Ents from The Lord of the Rings. The humans are tall and spindly like in 101 Dalmatians (which I just watched, which is probably why I thought of that).

This is a really sweet story, with a great message about how what's inside is what matters. I think it would be good for kids of any age.

4 stars.

Full disclosure: Free ebook copy received from the author.