A Forest in the City

This beautiful book of narrative non-fiction looks at the urban forest and dives into the question of how we can live in harmony with city trees.

Book Genre:

Nonfiction

Audience:

ages 8 to 12 / grades 3 to 7

Written by

Andrea Curtis

Illustrated by

Pierre Pratt

Book Description
“Imagine a city draped in a blanket of green … Is this the city you know?”

A Forest in the City looks at the urban forest, starting with a bird’s-eye view of the tree canopy, then swooping down to street level, digging deep into the ground, then moving up through a tree’s trunk, back into the leaves and branches.

Trees make our cities more beautiful and provide shade but they also fight climate change and pollution, benefit our health and connections to one another, provide food and shelter for wildlife, and much more. Yet city trees face an abundance of problems, such as the abundance of concrete, poor soil and challenging light conditions.

So how can we create a healthy environment for city trees? Urban foresters are trying to create better growing conditions, plant diverse species, and maintain trees as they age. These strategies, and more, reveal that the urban forest is a complex system—A Forest in the City shows readers we are a part of it.

Includes a list of activities to help the urban forest and a glossary.

The ThinkCities series is inspired by the urgency for new approaches to city life as a result of climate change, population growth and increased density. It highlights the challenges and risks cities face, but also offers hope for building resilience, sustainability and quality of life as young people act as advocates for themselves and their communities.
Post-Reading Activities/ Key Ideas & Details
Grades 1-3: Trees in the City
What did you learn about what trees need to survive and thrive in cities? Make a list of five key elements for a healthy urban forest.
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 1-3: Describe Your City
The author describes a city “draped in a blanket of green” on the first page. What does she mean? She also asks: “Is this the city you know?” What’s your city like—do you have lots of trees on streets and lawns or are they few and far between? Are they big and healthy or small and spindly? Does your city and its people care about trees? How do you know?
Post-Reading Activities/ Vocabulary Acquisition
Grades 1-3: Vocabulary
Pick four vocabulary words in the book that you don’t know but think are important to understanding city trees.
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 1-3: What Helps Trees Live Longer
The author writes that many trees planted by city sidewalks don’t live past seven years old. After reading the book, what do you think you could do to help them to live longer? What else did you learn in the book about the difference between young trees and older ones? Why does the author think it’s so important to protect the urban forest?
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 1-3: City Wildlife
What kind of animals have you seen in trees in the city? What are they doing in the trees? (For instance, do they sleep there? Eat there? Build nests or gather materials?)
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 1-3: Fruit
What kind of fruit have you seen on city trees? Would you eat it? Why or why not?
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 1-3: Happier With Trees
Why do you think having a view of trees makes people feel happier and less stressed? What is it about the trees that helps improve our mood?
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Grades 1-3: Surprise
Can you draw a picture of the thing that most surprised you in A Forest in the City?
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 1-3: Thriving Urban Forest
Write a recipe for a thriving urban forest. What are the ingredients trees need to survive and thrive? What are the most important directions for people who live in cities?
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Grades 1-3: Superhero Tree
Draw a picture of a tree as a climate-change fighting superhero!
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Grades 1-3: Observation Chart
Make a scientific observation chart about the animals or birds that live, play or eat in city trees. Where do they make their homes? What do they eat from the trees? Do they sleep in the canopy? What kind of trees do they prefer? What are the similarities and differences between the critters that live in the urban forest?
Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts
Grades 1-3: A Letter to A Tree
Write a note to your favourite tree and tell it why you like it so much! Use the author’s craft tutorial to make a card for your note!
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Grades 1-3: “When I Am Among the Trees”
Listen to your teacher or Amanda Palmer read Mary Oliver’s poem, “When I Am Among the Trees”: https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/09/23/amanda-palmer-mary-oliver-when-i-am-among-the-trees/. Write a poem or draw a picture about how it feels to you to be among the trees
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 4-6: Different Views on Trees
What did you learn in the book or from other research about the difference between how Indigenous people and European settlers thought about trees?
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 4-6: Rural and Urban
How are urban forests different from rural ones?
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 4-6: Building Communities
On pages 12–13 the author talks about something called the Wood Wide Web. Watch this YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWOqeyPIVRo and consider how trees and people are similar and different in the way they build communities.
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 4-6: Under the City
On pages 14–15, you’ll notice tree roots competing with pipes underground. Watch this video about what New York City looks like underground https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX1xmaKPb9o. What do you think is under your city? Is it the same or different?
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Grades 4-6: Hungry Trees
Check out the website https://hungrytrees.com/. Have you ever seen a tree “eating” something unusual in your city?
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Grades 4-6: Lichen
On page 21 the author writes that scientists test lichen on city trees to monitor pollution. Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh3xFOw62aU about why lichen is important. What did you learn about the value of lichen to us and the environment?
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Grades 4-6: Sick Trees
Have you ever seen a city tree that’s sick or diseased? What happened to it? What creatures lived in it before it fell down and died? Was it killed by invasive insects like the ones the author writes about in A Forest in the City? How do you know?
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 4-6: Trees in the Playground
Have you ever swung on the trees in your school playground? Does this book make you think twice about keeping the trees in your schoolyard safe? What can you do to make sure they grow big and strong?
Post-Reading Activities/ Further Research
Grades 4-6: CO2 and Climate Change
Trees help absorb CO2, the gas that causes global warming (pg. 26). Research how humans produce CO2. How can we cut down on the production of this gas and help fight climate change?
Post-Reading Activities/ Further Research
Grades 4-6: Prescribed Burns
Were you surprised to hear about the “prescribed burns” in Toronto’s High Park on page 31? Watch this video for an idea of what it looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdUkL4q-WOQ. Research how fires help urban forests as well as other types of forests.
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Grades 4-6: Lower Crime Rates
Why do you think trees lower crime rates?
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Grades 4-6: Trees and Mood
Why do you think having a view of trees makes people feel happier and less stressed? What is it about the trees that helps improve mental health?
Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts
Grades 4-6: “Wood Wide Web”
After reading the book and watching the video about the “Wood Wide Web,” make a chart comparing how trees and people build communities.
Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts
Grades 4-6: Writing A Hungry Tree
Writing prompt: write a story about a hungry tree like the kind you read about and saw on the website hungrytrees.com.
Post-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning
Grades 4-6: Lichen Safari
Go on a lichen safari! What kind of lichen can you find in your schoolyard? Check out this video of lichenologists in Edinburgh, Scotland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yaB18pL_3c. How many types of lichen can you identify in your schoolyard or a nearby park?
Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts
Grades 4-6: Write A Letter
Write a persuasive letter to a neighbour who doesn’t like city trees. Tell them why they’re so important to all of us! Or write a persuasive letter to your local city councillor to encourage them to create education campaigns, planting targets and city bylaws that protect the urban forest. Send it!
Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts
Grades 4-6: Public Service Poster
Why do you think it’s important not to take bark or damage trees? Could you make a public service poster or advertisement telling other kids to be careful with the trees in your schoolyard?
Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts
Grades 4-6: Write A Short Story
Writing prompt: choose a person illustrated in the book. Imagine who they are and what they’re all about. Write a short story about them and include something (big or small!) about a tree.
Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts
Grades 4-6: Story About A Tree
Do you know of any big trees in your neighbourhood or near your school? Research how old the tree is or measure it and take an educated guess. What was happening in that place when it was just a seedling? Who or what might have sat beneath that tree, climbed its branches, raked its leaves? Write a story about someone or something from the past that might have known that tree just like you do!