Parents' Guide to

The Tree and the River

By Regan McMahon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Past, future mix in compelling wordless tale of one place.

Book Aaron Becker Picture Book 2023
The Tree and the River book cover: Illustration of blue river running through a natural green landscape with a big tree highlighted in the foreground and the reflection of a blue-gray city below in the river

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What's the Story?

THE TREE AND THE RIVER begins with a tree growing on land in the curve of a winding river, without a human in sight. Then humans arrive and build a farmhouse. More people come, more building, and the growing of crops. Soon a town has grown surrounded by walls, with boats on the river and workhorses pulling wagons and plowing fields. Then that grows into a great city with what looks like an army assembling and hoisting their banners. Technology makes its mark, too, first with a waterwheel in the river near the tree, then steampunk-like flying machines, steam locomotives, cars, trucks, planes, boats, bridges, highways, glittering artificial lights. Natural disasters appear, too, with ice floes, floods, fire, and drought, and it looks like the tree is damaged beyond recovery. But is there hope of recovery?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This detailed look at the growth of one place through time is both an alternate history of civilization and a hopeful wordless story of recovery and renewal. The Tree and the River can also be seen as a cautionary tale of humans' impact on nature and ability to change their world through technology. In the end, nature seems to win, or at least to persist and survive.

Unlike author-illustrator Aaron Becker's previous wordless books, there's no main human character or characters to follow on a quest or grieving process. The tree and the river are the main characters. And, as usual, Becker gives readers young and old a lot to think about as they pore over his intricate illustrations.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how the natural world changes in The Tree and the River. How do buildings change the countryside? How do people change the river?

  • How do the people work together as a team to build houses and cities?

  • Which pictures are your favorite? Why?

  • How does a wordless book compare with a book whose story is told in words on the pages? Try making up a wordless story of your own with just drawings or paintings.

Book Details

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