Joanne Ryder's fondness for trees began as a child. "I remember gazing up at the sky through the trees in our yard," she says. "When I grew up and returned, it was the trees I recognized first." She is the award-winning author of over twenty books inspired by the natural world, including Chipmunk Song and Where Butterflies Grow. She lives in San Francisco, California.

Michael Hays received his BFA in illustration from Rhode Island School of Design. He is the illustrator of many children's books, including My Father Doesn't Know About the Woods and Me by Dennis Haseley and Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger. He currently teaches children's book illustration at Columbia College in Chicago and resides in Oak Park, Illinois.

Hello, Tree!

by Joanne Ryder
illustrated by Michael Hays

Lodestar Books - Dutton 1991

One day you
will find a tree
standing tall in the sun
hiding secrets in its branches
and feel that this tree
is special to you.

Come close so you can feel your tree's cool shade and listen to the wind whispering in its branches. Climb inside your tree to find its secret places and see the world around you in a new way.

Like you, your tree will grow and change. But it will always be a familiar friend to return to again and again. Joanne Ryder"s poetic text and Michael Hays's vibrant illustrations invite children to celebrate the joy of nature–and to find and treasure their own special tree.

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