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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 17, 2009
CONTACT
Leeann Lavin: 718-623-7289, leeannlavin@bbg.org
Kate Blumm: 718-623-7241, kateblumm@bbg.org
Celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day With BBG's Charming New Hardcover:
The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-ups!
The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-ups introduces families to the wide world of trees!
Brooklyn, New York—APRIL 17, 2009—Earth Day is swiftly upcoming on April 22, and Arbor Day is April 24—and Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is celebrating with its very special, "sure-to-be-a-classic" The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-ups. This first-ever hardcover from BBG introduces children and their caregivers to the incredible world of trees with a unique combination of botanical facts and one-of-a-kind full-color artwork, to dazzling effect. The book ignites the imagination and captures the magic and majesty of the trees while inspiring curiosity, awe and a desire to learn more about each of the 33 different North American trees profiled in the book.
Created by renowned children's book author and illustrator Gina Ingoglia, The Tree Book is a delightful presentation that readers will return to again and again—for the imaginative narration of each tree's history and characteristics, as well as for use outdoors when exploring the towering trees all around us. The book is a perfect tool to celebrate Arbor Day, which was originally conceived in 1872 as a special day for tree planting. Today, on Arbor Day both youth and adults all over the country go well beyond the original design and pay homage to trees by learning about them, creating a work of art about them, or simply just taking a walk to enjoy them!
Researched at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Tree Book features illustrations and informative text about each tree's history, native habitat, growth habit, and special characteristics, as well as stories and folklore about the tree and its role in everyday life, offer a charming way for both children and adults to learn about and celebrate nature. The 96-page Tree Book begins with an introduction to trees and details about the life of a tree—including how it eats, drinks and grows; why leaves change color; information about the tree's skin (known as bark) and other characteristics that help with tree species identification, and why humans need trees to survive.
The book features 33 different North American trees that can be found growing across the country, from rural Georgia to neighborhoods in New York City to the suburbs of California. Each profile includes, in addition to the text, a beautiful watercolor of the tree as it appears in a particular season and life-size depictions of its bud, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed.
For more information on The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-ups, please visit BBG's website.
Gina Ingoglia is the author of more than 80 books for children. She is a graduate of Dickinson College and holds an MA in publishing from New York University. She graduated a George H. Cook Scholar in landscape architecture from Rutgers University and has a private practice in residential landscape and garden design. In 1996, she was awarded an honorary doctorate in humanities from Dickinson College. She is vice president of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society, and her botanical art has been exhibited with the society in the United States and abroad. From 1987 to 1995 she wrote and illustrated the "Budding Gardener" column for Brooklyn Botanic Garden's periodic publication, Plants & Gardens News. She lives in Brooklyn Heights, New York, with her husband, Earl Weiner. They have a son, daughter, and two grandchildren. The Tree Book took many years to research and write, and the author credits her grandson, Davey as the inspiration for the completion of the book. Ingoglia not only thanks Davey in the acknowledgements, but dedicates the book to him and his sister, Lily.