“Show me the books she loves and I shall know the woman…“

I’m Up in a Tree
Mark Alden Johnson
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Climbing a tree sounded like a great idea, but it turns out that getting down is much harder than climbing up! Perched on a branch high up in a tree, a young boy must decide whether to find a way to the ground by himself or wait for his dad. All kinds of animals, from bees to birds to cats, offer him advice on how to get down (Jump! Fly! Climb!), but it’s up to him to figure out if their advice is worth taking.
Told in a lyrical rhyming style and charmingly illustrated by the author, I’m Up in a Tree is a book for kids and their parents to enjoy together.

I’m Up in a Tree is a fun, lyrical journey to take with your children and young readers. It is a clear illustration of a little boy who uses his noggin rather then going by “guts” to get out of a bad situation.
As a mom and home school teacher I enjoyed the fact that Mark Alden Johnson created a young character that was a tad mischievous and curious (how else would he have gotten up in the tree?) but who was also wise enough to not accept bad advise no matter how well meaning. Finding himself in a very odd and somewhat dangerous predicament the young man chooses not to listen to a bee, a cat or a bird. Wise move. The book provided characters that lent themselves to dramatic vocal interpretations. Which made reading the book with my twins more exciting.
My daughters instantly related to the little boy’s situation. In fact at one point they wondered aloud “Why in the world did he bother going up a tree in the first place”? As the cat, bird and bee gave advice on how to get down my girls were eager to offer their own opinion on the advice offered.
If you are a parent or teacher I would suggest picking up a copy of I’m Up in a Tree…it offers a great lesson in trusting what you have been taught by your parents and using the common sense that is all too often not common. A great lesson taught in a simple yet meaningful story line.
Review Opportunity Provided by Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists
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