Bertolt

PreS-Gr 2—If The Giving Tree had been French Canadian, perhaps she would have been more like Bertolt, the ancient oak and best friend of the narrator of this small, square book. There are many things to appreciate in Goldstyn's gentle colored pencil drawings, which impart a casual, thrown-off impression even as they embrace precise anatomical details of honeybees or cardinals. Best of all are his renderings of the rich textures of Bertolt's trunk: the whorls and deep crevices the narrator uses as toeholds to climb his "secret ladder." While hidden among Bertolt's leafy branches, the boy witnesses amusingly clandestine activities: boys stealing bottles from the grocer, a young couple stealing kisses, and the like. After Bertolt dies, the boy seeks a way to respond appropriately. Goldstyn circles round to the seemingly unrelated incident of a lost mitten, which occurs on the first page, inspiring the child to deck Bertolt's bare branches with an assortment of mismatched mittens. At 72 pages, Goldstyn's story lasts far longer than the average picture book, but it is charming enough to hold readers' attention. It's all rather sweet and delightfully unexpected.