'The Adventures of Keva: The Power of Trees' Book Review

When I saw "The Adventures of Keva: The Power of the Trees" by Ebony Zayzay and Upit Dyoni, I just knew I had to read it! The tree on the cover was amazing and powerful and inspiring and I wanted to know more about Keva and her trees. So I was overjoyed when author Ebony Zayzay sent me a copy to review.

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Keva lives with her mom and dad, who are researchers. You can tell from the first two pages that Keva LOVES to explore outside with her parents. Although, I mean, the cover tells me how much Keva loves being out in nature so this isn't a surprise! Keva has fun bouncing with frogs, rolling down hills, and checking in on the wildlife in and around the jungle. Then she visits the trees in the jungle, especially her favorite - Iya, who is probably the oldest and largest tree in the jungle! Keva loves spotting the various animals living and hanging out on Iya's branches, resting in her shade, and hugging her until her "worries magically float away." Her parents also told her that natives use the bark from Iya to treat scratches and sickness and that they insist you can hear Iya's magical whisper if you listen closely enough. Iya is a truly magical tree!

The next day, Keva is doing homework when she hears a soft whisper. She follows the whisper into the jungle until she sees machines chopping down trees - including her beloved Iya! The tree is loaded into a truck which quickly disappears from view. I don't want to ruin the end of the story, so you'll have to read it for yourself to find out what happens! But here are some reactions from my kid reviewers:

Iya made me think of my tree at home that has moss growing on it and I love to climb. It made me feel happy. The girl had a great bond with the tree and she was sad when it was gone. I'm glad no one is going to come take my tree.

- Chloe, 11

I thought the branch was going to turn into Groot! I love love love love peace and trees.

- Ben, 6

We also had a lot of questions while we were reading the story, so I put them all together and sent them to Ebony! If you'd like to learn more about the inspiration behind the story, check out "The Adventures of Keva" - Interview with Ebony Zayzay.

While we were reading this book, it reminded me of other books we've read about trees like "The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest" by Lynne Cherry and "Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story From Africa" by Jeanette Winter. It also made my heart smile as I though of some of the coolest trees I've seen in my life.

This is me 15 years ago wandering the Rock Close around Blarney Castle in Ireland. I think that was the first time I really felt the magic in nature - the trees were old and cool and felt like they were really alive.