What Did the Tree See by Charlotte Guillain

What Did the Tree See by Charlotte Guillain

Told in gentle rhyming verse, this beautiful non-fiction picture book follows the story of an oak tree on a hilltop as it witnesses life changing around it over the course of hundreds of years. From the time when hunters chased deer through the woodland, to when trees were cleared for farmland, to the smog and factories emerging during the industrial revolution., one majestic oak has seen it all, and now we can too.

Accompanying pages at the end of the book include a timeline of events in world history across the periods featured in the poem, the life cycle of an oak tree, and prompts to help parents and children explore their own local history.

Charlotte Guillain lives in Oxfordshire, UK. She writes fiction and non-fiction for children, including the picture book Spaghetti with the Yeti, which was shortlisted for Oscar's First Book Prize 2014 and has featured in CBeebies Bedtime Stories. The Street Beneath My Feet, Charlotte's first title for words & pictures, was shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2018 and named an ALSC Notable Children's Book 2018 in the All Ages category, as well as being selected by the Guardian as one of 15 'modern classics'.

Lou Baker Smith is an illustrator based in Bath, UK. She has worked on a range of subjects throughout her career, especially food-related pieces for cookbooks, packaging, and brochures. Her love of color, textures, and layers is a key theme that runs through her work. She has a keen interest in encouraging creativity in education and has worked for some years as an Artist in Residence on projects within Reception classes. Recently, she helped run a series of four creative workshops at The Barbican, London.