Menschen sind wie Bäume. Sie brauchen Luft, Sonne und die Gemeinschaft der anderen. Die Natur kann uns aber noch etwas lehren…

„Sei wie ein Baum!“ ist ein Bilderbuch von Maria Gianferrari, geeignet für Kinder ab fünf Jahren.

Meine Meinung:
Das Buch besteht aus rund 20 Doppelseiten. Die Bilder erstrecken sich über jeweils beide Seiten. Als Besonderheit gibt es in der Mitte ein ausklappbares Panoramabild. Jedes Motiv ist mit einem Text versehen.

Die Texte verzichten auf die sonst üblichen, manchmal recht gequälten Reime. Sie weisen eine einfache Syntax auf. Allerdings sind die Sätze oftmals metaphorisch gemeint und es tauchen zwischendurch botanische Fachbegriffe auf. Beim Vorlesen sind daher zusätzliche Erklärungen notwendig.

Auf den letzten beiden Doppelseiten befindet sich nur Text. Hier sind die Anmerkungen der Autorin, Tipps zu Umweltschutz und Co. sowie die Anatomie eines Baumes untergebracht. Vermutlich ist diese Art Anhang für Fünfjährige noch zu überfordernd. Als Ergänzung finde ich diese Seiten jedoch wunderbar.

Die farbenfrohen, aber nicht knalligen Illustrationen von Felicita Sala empfinde ich als sehr gelungen. Sie zeigen ihre Liebe zum Detail und sind gleichzeitig nicht überfrachtet. Die Bildsprache ist einheitlich. Dennoch sind die Motive abwechslungsreich und transportieren unterschiedliche Stimmungen.

Die Botschaft des Buches ist wundervoll. Hier lernen Kinder nicht nur die Eigenschaften und Lebensweise von Bäumen kennen, sondern gewinnbringende Vergleiche zu den Menschen anzustellen. Was mir besonders dabei gefällt: Auch als Erwachsene können wir einiges aus der Lektüre ziehen.

Der Einband mit den unterschiedlichen Blättern trägt zur überzeugenden Gestaltung bei. Das Covermotiv passt hervorragend zum Thema.

Mein Fazit:
Mit „Sei wie ein Baum!“ hat Maria Gianferrari ein kreatives und rundum gelungenes Bilderbuch konzipiert, das ich nur empfehlen kann. Zwar sind die Texte beim Vorlesen für jüngere Kinder etwas erklärungsbedürftig. Dennoch lohnt sich die Lektüre sehr, weil sie nicht nur Unterhaltung bietet, sondern pädagogisch wertvoll ist.

I got this book quite early, but it was a book I chose myself, so maybe somewhere between 7-10 years old? Anyway, I enjoyed it even though it was old. It was a Swedish translation. Then we went to England on vacation a couple of times and my sister found four hardcover books with illustrations that belonged in the same series as that first book (that was hardcover too). It wasn’t that expensive back then, or maybe I didn’t notice because my parents paid for it. :)

Most people have read the book at some point so I won’t say much about the plot - a girl from Kansas is ripped from her family, inside the family home, by a hurricane/twister and comes to a magical fairytale country, called Oz. Because she misses her family she tries to get home. That’s basically the story.

I understand. I’d never survive without my family, even though Dorothy was lucky to get her house with her with, presumably, what little stuff she had.

Whenever people ask what fantasy world you’d like to live in most people mention Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Narnia and Harry Potter’s world, but I usually answer Dinotopia. I’m obsessed with that island with cute dinosaurs.

However, since I managed to download a free copy of the e-book, I now also think that the land of Oz might be an attractive option. :) Especially now. (Doctor Who isn’t primarily a book but to live inside the TARDIS would also be cool).
For instance, in Oz you have trees that grow breakfast- and lunch boxes and bushes with macaroons. :)

At the moment, my sister and I are also watching the first season of animated tv series called Lost in Oz and seems to be a modern retelling of the original story. It’s actually quite good, even though it’s aimed at children. Older kids, I think, because mine don’t find it that interesting. It’s fun, cute and quite thrilling too.

'The Wizard of Oz' was the first real book I read cover to cover, and as soon as I saw listings for 14 Oz books I wanted to read them all. It didn't happen, which was probably for the best, but about five years ago I acquired digital copies of all of them and meant to knock them all out during my then-long bus commutes.

Other than the first two sequels - 'The Land of Oz' and 'Ozma of Oz', which are vital, works of wonder - these books are disappointing nonsense. Scratch that. Disappointing garbage is what is was. Continuity is routinely flouted for no good reason and Baum aggressively advertised his other book series in hopes of getting kids and their parents (and his creditors) to stop forcing him to write more Oz books. No dice, pal.

And then there was the whole weird fairyland subtext that no one grows old or dies ever since, long long ago, the Fairy Lurline enchanted Oz and went on her merry way. People can be hurt, people can be eaten, or chopped up, but those pieces don't die. This is so much better than explaining death to little kids.

Baum is still capable of wonderful invention throughout this series, but its the laziness of his plots and characterization that make the books difficult to read. The plot here should have been decent. Ozma and Dorothy read in Glinda's magic book that two hitherto unknown peoples in a distant corner of Oz are about to go to war. Ozma and Dorothy wish to stop this so they head over there, and when they get in trouble, a rescue party of most everybody else in Oz goes after them, with mixed results. No one talks about the problems of war except in the most abstract terms, Ozma's argument is purely divine right and when that's rebuffed she just waits for someone to magic the problems away.

The best line was when the Patchwork Girl predicts that someday Button Bright will wander off and no one will find him again.

If you somehow have made it through these books and desire more, there are some 26 other Oz books that were published through the 20s, 30s, & 40s and more dribbling into the modern era.

Oz

Next: 'The Royal Book of Oz' by Ruth Plumly Thompson

Previous: 'The Magic of Oz'

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

I actually ended up liking this book more than the original novel. I have never been a huge fan of the Oz series. I've always had kind of a weird relationship with them; I'm intrigued by the ideas and characters, but I just don't like them (and I can't stand Dorothy). But I do enjoy various retellings. 

I really liked this book. It perfectly combines Baum's original text with all-new, fabulous artwork. I loved the revamp of the characters. I especially enjoyed the artwork. I really like Young's interesting, slightly grotesque style. Very well done. 

The text does stick to the original story (and all it's gruesome details). This means that the book can get a little violent at times such as the Tin Man killing a cat with his ax to rescue a mouse, the Tin Man decapitating wolves (the Tin Man is surprisingly violent), and the Scarecrow wringing the necks of birds. These things happen in the original so they happen here. Young's artwork is not overly bloody or gory, but there is only so much one can do when illustrating such a story. This is not a criticism of the book, but a warning to parents who may want to give this book to their kids too soon. 

Overall, a very good adaptation of the original Oz story.