A Tree Is Nice

A Tree Is Nice is a small book about something we usually walk past without thinking. Janice May Udry simply lists what a tree gives us — shade, fruit, a place to sit, branches to climb, leaves to play with. There’s no moral spelled out, no dramatic message. Just everyday things that, put together, suddenly feel important.

Marc Simont’s illustrations meet the text on the same wavelength. His watercolors look direct and unembellished, almost like quick observations made on a warm afternoon. They don’t call attention to themselves; instead, they make the scenes easy to enter, as if you’ve seen these moments somewhere in your own childhood.

The book works because it’s honest. It talks about trees the way a child would: straightforward, practical, noticing what’s right in front of them. And that simplicity is exactly what makes the book memorable. It doesn’t preach about nature, it just shows why trees matter, quietly and convincingly.

Not a big story, not a loud book, but a clear reminder of how much we get from something as ordinary as a tree.