Reading Nook: Tree Titles in Honor of Arbor Day

The United States celebrates Arbor Day today, an observance that began in 1872 to encourage tree planting and care.

That mission is one taken seriously by Huntington Woods, which is celebrating its 25th year as a Tree City USA and proclaimed Friday as Arbor Day in the city.

On Sunday, the Beautification, Art and Reforestation Committee will sponsor a tree walk, leaving from the at 1 p.m. rain or shine. Oakland Community College landscape horticulture instructor Marshal Baeckroot and several students will lead guided tours of the city's trees during the event.

Also in honor of Arbor Day, Huntington Woods Public Library Director Anne Hage has suggested a few titles that explore the topic of trees:

Books for adults

• The Sound of the Trees by Robert Gatewood, 2002: Set in the 1930s, Trude and his mother set out on horseback to escape from a brutal father and violent past.
• Teaching the Trees by Joan Maloof, 2005: A collection of natural history essays by scientist Joan Maloof.
• The Tree by Colin Tudge, 2006: Colin Tudge travels the world bringing stories and facts about the trees around us.

Children’s books

• Arbor Day Square by Kathryn O. Galbraith, 2010: Katie and her father plant and tend trees in their frontier town, includes Arbor Day facts. Cyd Moore, the books illustrator, is a Michigan resident.
• The Tree by Karen Gray Ruelle, 2008: This is the story of a 250-year-old Elm tree in New York City that gives a history of the city.