I couldn’t let Arbor Day pass this year without doing a feature story. But you cannot imagine how hard it was to pick just one feature boo...

'Our Tree Named Steve' - Read and Rise April 2025

 


I couldn’t let Arbor Day pass this year without doing a feature story. But you cannot imagine how hard it was to pick just one feature book for Arbor Day. We’ve read so many awesome tree books and I’m sure there are dozens I haven’t discovered yet!

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After a lot of reading and considering, I decided to choose Our Tree Named Steve as my feature story. I ended up picking this one because I felt it was the most relatable. Steve the tree is a central figure in his family’s life, offering play opportunities and shade among other things. It immediately reminded me of my kids climbing trees, stringing ninja lines between trees, reading or picnicking under others, and watching the wildlife that depends on our trees for food and shelter.

This story also resonated with me because we have named several of the trees in our yard – though none of them is named Steve. We have Treepee the silver maple, Morris the sycamore, Bruce the Norway spruce, and Maggie and Lia the magnolias. There was also Sap the silver maple but we had to cut her down because her trunk was rotting. It was definitely a sad day for us.

And without further ado...let's meet Steve!

Featured story: Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel and David Catrow


Activities:
- Arborday.org and Teachstarter.com have a LOT of fantastic ways to celebrate Arbor Day
- Watch (or read) The Lorax with your family. It’s a classic story about caring for your environment that I will always love. It’s currently available to stream on Amazon Prime but I’m sure your local library probably has a copy to borrow!
- Take the What Type of Tree Are You quiz from Buzzfeed (I’m a giant sequoia!)
- Try your hand at propagation. Visit 8milliontrees.com to learn how to grow a tree from a branch.
- Check out this collection of videos from NatGeoKids: ExploreNational Parks to Learn About Trees (bonus points to anyone who visits one of these parks in person!)
- Learn how trees communicate with The Magic Schoolbus Rides Again in “Tim & the Talking Trees” on Netflix (season 2, episode 10)
- The book Buddhism for Kids has a great mindfulness activity called "Greet the Trees." The Buddha taught that humans are interconnected with nature, including trees. "Greet the Trees" directs you to take a walk outside, slowly approach a tree, and greet it however feels best. You can wave, say hello, give a bow or curtsy...then observe the tree using your senses of sight, touch, smell, and hearing. Finally, think about all the things your tree provides you and life around it. Talk to the tree and express your gratitude (and feel free to name it as well!)

More awesome tree books:
The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins and Jill McElmurry
Come along with Kate Sessions as she helps San Diego evolve from a dry desert into a lush, green city.

Disclaimer: This book made me cry. It tells the true story of Sundar Paliwal who lives in a small village in India. Sundar grows up watching irresponsible mining destroying the land and also seeing how long-held customs cause gender inequality and discrimination. After his daughter dies of dehydration, he sets about to change both these problems by celebrating the birth of every girl in the village by planting 111 trees!
Find out more at: https://missionsustainability.org/blog/shyam-sunder-paliwal/ 

Trees Make Perfect Pets by Paul Czejak and Cathy Gendron
This story is absolutely adorable! See what happens when Abigail discovers her perfect pet - a tree named Fido!

Learn about Margaret Lowman, the first scientist to learn about the rain forest and its trees by climbing up into its canopies!

The Adventures of Keva: The Power of Trees by Ebony Zayzay and Upit Dyoni
Keva has grown up appreciating and loving trees – thanks to her parents the environmental biologists – and when her favorite tree is chopped down, Keva sets about to save the tree.

This book gives you an entirely new perspective on trees by chronicling the life of a Coast Redwood along with the historical events happening around the world.

In this story, a man exhausts himself trying to chop down a kapok tree and falls asleep at its base. While he naps, various creatures of the rain forest whisper about the importance of trees.

This tells the true story of Wangari Maathai who fought against the deforestation of her homeland in Kenya. 


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