A maple tree and a pine tree become friends while learning about kindness, differences, beauty and loss … in the meadow. Scientists have told us for years that trees are social beings that communicate continually and care for one another. For children who may be too young to grasp the nuances of the scientific rhetoric surrounding the life of trees, In the Meadow, a delightful fiction read, introduces them to the concept of caring among trees.

As an old maple tree and a young pine tree become friends, the pine benefits from the lessons and compassion of her older friend. And when misfortune happens, the young pine is called upon to carry the maple’s lessons to another generation of even younger trees. The concepts of love, kindness, resilience, service, and appreciation for differences are modeled for young children without moralizing or overt lessons.

This story was originally told by a four-year-old to his grandmother. Therefore, not every aspect of the book may be accurate from the scientific point of view, but the themes are timeless. This is a good snuggle-up-and-read book for parents to share with children who are not yet readers and a nice volume for a young reader’s library.