Tree Hole Homes: Daytime Dens and Nighttime Nooks
by Melissa Stewart ; illus. by Amy Hevron
Primary     Random House Studio/Random    40 pp.         g
10/22     978-0-593-37330-9         $18.99
Library ed.  978-0-593-37331-6    $21.99
e-book ed.  978-0-593-37332-3    $11.99

Stewart follows a familiar pattern (see Sibert Honor Book Summertime Sleepers , rev. 7/21) of introducing a basic feature of animal life and then comparing and contrasting the ways in which animals adapt to these fundamentals. This time up, she’s examining homes in trees, first by asking readers to identify with the inhabitants (“What would it be like to live inside a tree?”) and then describing characteristics of such homes. For example, some homes are large (for barred owls) while others are small (deer mice). Some homes are built by the inhabitants (black-capped chickadees) while nature constructs others through, for example, tree-splitting lightning strikes (for little brown bats). Digitally rendered collages on wood panels depict the animals’ routine activities as natural and authentic, perfectly matching the matter-of-fact, informative text. Appended with facts about the animals (including a memorable “fun fact” for each that ranges from the speed they travel to how they handle poop); a bibliography; and suggestions for further inquiry.

From the September/October 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.