California Garden & Potager: Trees: A Rooted History

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Piotr Socha and Wojciech Grajkowski, with their respective backgrounds in fine arts and biology, bring their love of trees alive in their book “Trees: A Rooted History”. Through beautiful illustrations and in-depth descriptions of how trees have literally and figuratively shaped the world around us, Trees is a treat of a read for children and adults alike.

Trees: A Rooted History

Trees: A Rooted History teaches us about trees in all their splendor: from how they literally grow and function to the creatures that inhabit them. The book’s illustrations invite readers to learn how trees have been used as tools, transportation devices, and homes, their place in history (in the context of religion and the supernatural) and in the use of art, instrument, ornamentation, and fairytales, and leaves us with questions to ponder about the future of trees.

A few favorite book moments:

“Wendell Berry, an American writer, poet and lover of nature, wrote that people did not receive the world from their parents but borrowed it from their children. “

Forest tales about trees, including the whispering oak tree of Dodona in Ancient Greece, the Jinmenju tree from Japanese legends, the man-eating tree of Madagascar and the bloodthirsty trees – the Ents – from The Lord of the Rings.

Overview of tree houses around the world including a chashitsu in Chino, Japan, the Redwood Treehouse in New Zealand, structures in Vancouver City.