Big Tree

Description

'Hello, stars. I thought I heard you calling me. A mysterious voice has been speaking to Louise in her dreams. She and her brother Merwin are Sycamore seeds, who hope to one day set down roots and become big trees. But when a fire forces them to leave their mama tree prematurely, they find themselves catapulted into the unknown, far from home. Alone and unprepared, they must use their wits and imagination to navigate a dangerous world-filled with dinosaurs, meteors, and volcanoes!-and the fear of never finding a safe place to grow up. As the mysterious voice gets louder, Louise comes to realise their mission in life may be much bigger than either of them ever could have imagined! Brimming with humour, wonder, mystery, and a profound sense of hope, Big Tree is a trailblazing adventure, illustrated with nearly 300-pages of breathtaking pictures. It is Selznick's most imaginative and far-reaching work to date and a singular reading experience for the whole family!

Brian Selznick's books have sold millions of copies, garnered countless awards worldwide, and been translated into more than 35 languages. He broke open the novel form with his innovative and genre-defying thematic trilogy, beginning with the Caldecott Medal-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Invention of Hugo Cabret, adapted into Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning movie Hugo. He followed that with the #1 New York Times bestseller, Wonderstruck, adapted into the eponymous movie by celebrated filmmaker Todd Haynes, with a screenplay by Selznick, and the New York Times bestseller, The Marvels. Selznick's two most recent books for young people, Baby Monkey, Private Eye, co-written with his husband David Serlin, and Kaleidoscope, a New York Times Notable Children's Book of 2021, were both New York Times bestsellers as well. He also illustrated the 20th anniversary edition covers of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Selznick and Serlin divide their time between Brooklyn, New York and La Jolla, California. Learn more at thebrianselznick.com and mediaroom.scholastic.com/brianselznick.

Praise for Big Tree: "The tale of the natural world is the greatest story we have to tell, and Brian delivers a brilliant chapter of that tale throughout the pages of Big Tree." -- STEVEN SPIELBERG "Brian Selznick is a singular talent. Big Tree grips you from start to finish and resonates emotionally long after you have finished reading." -- CHRIS MELEDANDRI, founder, Illumination * "Sure to elicit gasps of surprise and delight...The astonishing story is at once vast and intimate, succeeding as both a small-scale adventure story and a broader exploration of the natural world. Glorious pencil drawings, moving swiftly from macro to micro lenses, turn wispy seeds into spritely, darling protagonists, and wordless sketched reveals that follow text interludes are sure to elicit gasps of surprise and delight. . . . An enthralling and expansive meditation on what it means to be alive on this planet." -- Booklist, starred review "A labor of love--no, of passion--for the world and all the life it supports, Brian Selznick's Big Tree spreads its storytelling canopy to cover all of us. We're implicated, we're honored. We're family." -- Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked "Inspirational, important, and beautiful. A fable for our times." -- Alan Gratz, bestselling author of Refugee and Ground Zero "Grand in scope, yet intimate and tender. Quintessential Selznick. A triumph!" -- Pam Munoz Ryan, bestselling author of Esperanza Rising and the Newbery Honor Book Echo "Big Tree is exactly the kind of book the world needs most right now." -- C.C. Harrington, author of the bestselling Indie's Introduce Pick Wildoak Praise for The Invention of Hugo Cabret: 2008 Caldecott Medal winner National Book Award Finalist #1 New York Times Bestseller New York Times Best Illustrated Book Los Angeles Times Favorite Children's Book of the Year TIME Magazine's 100 Best Children's and Young Adult Books of All Time "Evokes wonder... like a silent film on paper." -- The New York Times "A fast-paced treat." -- People Magazine "Distinctive." -- The Wall Street Journal "Cinematic." -- Parenting Magazine "Captivating." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review * "A true masterpiece."-- Publishers Weekly, starred review * "Fade to black and cue the applause!" -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review * "Complete genius." -- The Horn Book, starred review * "Breathtaking... shatters conventions." -- School Library Journal, starred review * "An original and creative integration of art and text." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review "Visually stunning... raises the bar." -- San Antonio Express-News Praise for Wonderstruck: #1 New York Times Bestseller New York Times Notable Children's Book ALA Notable Children's Book Parents' Choice Gold Winner Publishers Weekly Best Book "Engrossing, intelligent, beautifully engineered and expertly told in word and image." -- The New York Times Book Review "Moving and ingenious... " -- The Wall Street Journal "Brian Selznick proves to be that rare creator capable of following one masterpiece -- The Invention of Hugo Cabret -- with another even more brilliantly executed." -- The Washington Post "Another entrancing, exquisitely illustrated novel... Older kids and adults alike will be mesmerized by the interlocking stories. A verbal and visual marvel." -- Family Circle * "A gift for the eye, mind, and heart." -- Booklist, starred review * "Visually stunning, completely compelling." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review * "Innovative... has the makings of a classic." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review * "A thing of wonder to behold... an emotional experience that neither the words nor the illustrations could achieve on their own." -- School Library Journal, starred review Praise for The Marvels: New York Times Bestseller New York Times Notable Children's Book An Indie Bound #1 National Bestseller Guardian Children' s Book Prize Finalist Publishers Weekly Best Book * "Selznick continues his quest to shake up notions of illustrated novels, wordless storytelling, and the intersection of text and pictures in this newest volume... The novel as a whole is exactly the sort of theater that is so lovingly described within." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review * "Caldecott Medalist Selznick has been creating acclaimed illustrated novels for years now, and his latest takes his groundbreaking narrative format to new heights... [this] warm, affecting family tale is bittersweet, astonishing, and truly marvelous." -- Booklist, starred review * "... epic theater celebrating mysteries of the heart and spirit." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review * "[A] powerful story about creating lasting art and finding family in unexpected places." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review * "Memorable, momentous." -- School Library Journal, starred review Praise for Baby Monkey, Private Eye: A New York Times Bestselling Book An Amazon Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year Parents Magazine Best Early Reader of the Year A BookPage Best Book of the Year A News & Observer Best Book of the Year "A marvel." -- The New York Times "Inventive... fabulously expressive..." -- San Francisco Chronicle "...exceedingly cute..." -- The Wall Street Journal "Silly, endearing, and adventurous..." -- The Washington Post" Another boundary-buster." -- San Diego Union Tribute "Exquisite... [a] one-of-a-kind beginning reader..." -- Bookpage "Genre-defying entertainment... stupendous..." -- The Buffalo News* "Irresistible." -- Booklist, starred review* "[An] endearingly funny graphic novel/picture book/early reader." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review* "Selznick and Serlin take the easy reader format to new creative heights....The sharp pacing and charming humor also make it an excellent read-aloud choice....as funny as it is elegant. This will be enjoyed equally by youngsters and their grown-ups." -- School Library Journal, starred review* "Kids will forget they are learning to read, focusing instead on the comic bits, persistence, and vulnerability of an endearing hero." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review* "New readers will delight in the details... and the spot-on slapstick pacing of the putting-on-pants sequences will have viewers giggling for days." -- The Horn Book, starred review* "Repetition of words brings this within reach of timid readers, while the absurdity expands the appeal... It's the detailed full spreads, however, that stop the show and cinematically change the pace, especially the ones set in Baby Monkey's atmospheric office... The book is therefore a delight for reading together or alone, and the weight of the volume will provide considerable satisfaction to novice readers..." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review "A good choice for all libraries and classrooms as a confidence booster for beginning readers." -- School Library Connection, recommended Praise for Kaleidoscope: "Kaleidoscope, Brian Selznick's brilliant new book, is a collection of magical, weird and mysterious stories... Each tale is accompanied by art, which, as we've come to expect from Selznick, is stunning... While each tale seems like a sliver of a larger story we'll never learn, we get the impression that we're hearing the best part. There are no answers in this gorgeous book. There are just two of us -- Selznick and the reader -- lying side by side in the belly of a sphinx. Not trying to answer a riddle. Just appreciating being in the middle of one." -- Adam Gidwitz, The New York Times Book Review