Up in the Leaves

Up in the Leaves by Shira Boss and illustrated by Jamey Christoph is a new book I stumbled across at the library last week.  Bob Redman is not someone I had heard of, but after reading this book I want to know more about him.  As a boy, Bob lived in New York City.  He loved the outdoors and climbing trees.  One summer, he decided to build a tree house in one tree in Central Park.  It was discovered and taken down.  He did that again, and again, and again, making each one more complex.  Finally, he got a job offer to work in the park taking care of the trees.   This picture book is based on Bob's youth and written by his wife.  One girl read the book and thought it was a little sad (Bob's tree houses kept getting taken down).  A younger elementary boy liked the book-he seemed intrigued by the boy's persistence in building tree house after tree house.  This book could be used as a good discussion starter for students eight and older.