Nell Plants A Tree

NELL PLANTS A TREE
by Anne Wynter, illustrated by Daniel Miyares
Balzer & Bray, HarperCollins | 2023

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago and this multiple award-winning book shows us why. In flashbacks, we see young Nell planting and nurturing a pecan seed that grows into a bountiful tree for her grandchildren to climb, read under, and harvest pecans just as she did. It’s easy to follow the dual chronology as italic text and the plaid fabric of Nell’s dress clue us into the older timeline of the tree growing, while her lively bunch of grandchildren keep us rooted in the present at a family gathering featuring a pecan pie. The rich poetic language and soft illustrations reflect accurate plant biology, and invite us to both plant a tree now and climb the ones we’ve got.

Discussion questions (from youngest students to oldest)

How does young Nell help the tree grow?
What are all the ways Nell’s grandchildren use the tree?
Why is it important that Nell planted the tree when she was a girl?
What do you like to do with trees?
What kind of tree would you plant now for your grandchildren? Why?

Things to notice: illustration on the dust jacket is different from the one on the hard cover; the endpapers also differ. Can you find Nell’s dress in the endpapers?

Vocabulary

sprout: to begin to grow
Pecan: type of nut, grown most often in the southern part of the U.S.
- Pecans growing on a tree
- Shelled pecans (leads to Louisiana Agriculture in the Classroom page; shows all stages of pecan)

Source: National Agriculture in the Classroom website

Video content

Read-aloud of Nell Plants a Tree by “Star” (YouTube, 4:30m read aloud with appropriate music in the background)
“Go Plant a Tree” (PBS Kids, 3m video with kids explaining and demonstrating how to plant a tree)
Interview with Anne Wynter made for the Texas Center for the Book (YouTube 3:52m) Wynter answers these questions:
- Why did you write this book?
- What do you hope people will take away from your book?
- Why is reading important?
- What did (illustrator) Daniel Miyares bring to the book? (She talks about the two timelines and how he helped the reader see these.)
- “Everyone has a story”--how does this concept emerge in this book?

Activities

“The second best time to plant a tree is now”---plant a tree!
PBS Kids Plant A Tree
- Imagine how big this tree might be in 20 years
- How old will you be in 20 years? Will the tree produce shade?
Trees provide ingredients for many favorite pies! Host a pie tasting with the real, edible thing, or make a matching game with cards to pair a pie with the right tree: apple, pecan, cherry, peach, lime/lemon, coconut. (Check nut allergies if you plan to serve any nut pies.)
Invite an arborist to demonstrate tree care on your campus; how can we be advocates for trees and care for them? (Begin your search through the UVM Horticultural Extension “Ask A Volunteer”)
Draw a picture or make a book of the key stages of growing a tree: seed, seedling, sapling, mature. Incorporate cross-sections to show growth above and below the soil.
Watch videos of trees growing
- Time lapse video of an apple seed growing over the course of 171 days (YouTube, 1:56m)
- Growing a birch tree from seed over the course of 84 days (YouTube, 1:21m)

Photo credit: TJ Bright Photography

Anne Wynter

Author
annewynter.com

Anne Wynter is the Ezra Jack Keats Award-winning author of Everybody in the Red Brick Building, illustrated by Oge Mora; board books One Big Day and Hands On!, both illustrated by Alea Marley; and Nell Plants a Tree, illustrated by Daniel Miyares. Anne earned a degree in theatre from Washington University in St. Louis and penned a number of short plays that have been produced around the country. She lives in Austin, TX with her family.

Daniel Miyares

Illustrator
www.danielmiyares.com

Daniel Miyares is a critically acclaimed picture book author and illustrator. Some of his books include: Float, Night Out, That is My Dream, and Bring Me A Rock!. Daniel has been called “…a master of visual storytelling.”- Jody Hewston, Kinderlit, and “…enchanting, versatile” – The New York Times. He believes that our stories have the power to connect us all. Daniel’s story currently takes place in Lenexa, KS with his wife, their two wonderful children, and a dog named Violet that gives them all a run for their money.