Children’s growing anxiety worldwide about the plight of the environment has been much in the news these past few years, so the charming kid’s book EMMA IN THE LAND OF TREES by Ahmad Wasti comes at a good time. Aimed as a board book for pre-readers, those who obtain the sturdy print version rather than an e-edition (which is the version that was reviewed), will likely find children within the target ages of newborn to approximately three years old drawn to the boldly eye-catching, animal-themed art–art that will, in all probability, be able to retain its appeal even after being frequently chewed upon as is the typical fate for board books geared towards this age group. Similar to other effective children’s books of this type, the storyline, while simple, has enough meat on its bones to merit the repeated readings parents and other caregivers are likely to give it.
Based in an imaginary faraway land of sand and grass, the narrative opens with Emma who appears to be around five, coming upon an affable giraffe, a zebra, and a monkey whom she befriends, as most little ones would most certainly desire to do. The new friends share a bit of merriment together–an aspect of the book that warrants a bit further expansion–but then Emma notices something not quite right which hadn’t been immediately noticeable. With its long legs, her new pal the giraffe is having trouble nourishing itself on the grassy plain. The monkey also has no place to swing by limber limb or tail. And there’s no shade for any of them to escape a brutally hot sun. So Emma plants a tree which, as it magically grows, successfully solves all mentioned (and other not mentioned) problems. Then the four companions along with a host of additional animals (elephant, bird, squirrel, donkey) plant more trees. This is a solution parents and children can easily replicate in a pot or their backyard, which makes this book a user-friendly gateway towards discussing/learning about not only different trees, but also all kinds of other plants for food or medicine.
Told in an uncomplicated pattern of rhyme that sometimes works well, while other times does not, the book does have a few flaws. The fact that trees provide oxygen necessary to life on Earth would be a useful concept to include, and some standard aspects such as copyright page, author bio, etc. are absent. But the notion of everyone uniting to restore Earth’s environment is sound, and this lushly colorful volume delights.
EMMA IN THE LAND OF TREES by Ahmad Wasti enchants from a straightforward, ecologically concerned beginning to an appealing conclusion with a lesson that is easily replicable with children in real life.
~C.S. Holmes for IndieReader