Can You Hear the Trees Talking? by Peter Wohlleben

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns.

While looking for a book from this author, I noticed that he'd written a children's book aimed at age 8-10, so I decided to see what it was like. The first thing I noticed was that he does not "talk down" to the reader, even though he does try to give simple comparisons that children may be able to relate to. That made me want to recommend it to our permie parents and grandparents. This would be a great book to use for guided walks in the woods or to take along if you're planning a vacation to a forested campground. It could easily be used for homeschooling.

Chapter 1 is about how trees work, covering the basics like breathing, drinking and staying upright, but also giving critical details such as how trees work with fungi and in cooperation with other trees.

Chapter 2 is about growing up in the forest. He starts with making babies, which slides into the concept of "Tree Grandparents" and how some trees grow up as parts of families with support from their mother, whereas some trees are more solitary. I particularly liked his description of how growing *fast* is not the healthier option and the outdated attitude of "survival of the fittest" isn't mentioned, but rather the cooperative nature of plants is highlighted.

That said, the next chapter is titled Friends and Enemies! He talks about tree defense systems from herbivores, insects and fungi. Then moves on to the many differences between trees, and identifies some top scoring trees in areas such as size and age.

Chapter 5 brings up the interconnection between trees and animals, mentioning mostly birds and insects, but really only the basics. It opens the subject up, but there is lots of room for expanding this topic particularly related to specific ecosystems that you might be visiting.

The book moves on to discuss some of the important things trees do for us, like making rain, cleaning water and cooling cities. But then it gets to something that I'm ashamed to say, I never thought of in regards to trees - light pollution!  "Trees aren't that different, and when they grow next to streetlights, they don't grow to be very old." I've felt for a long time that humans would be better off with much less light at night, and it's great that the author has introduced this concept to young humans as I was over 30 before I ever heard the term "light pollution".

Chapter 7 covers the special things that happen during the 4 seasons. Typical of his style of practical descriptions of complex concepts, the author describes how deciduous trees fill their leaves with waste before dropping them in the fall, the way humans go to the toilet. He also mentions that trees that start from seeds in the forest are better able to cope with winter storms than transplants - another principle that permaculture people try to follow.

So overall, this is a wonderful book for adults and children to read together, and contains plenty of information on its own, but also can act as a springboard to other subjects and further studies and readings. It's a book that I wish was in every public and school library, as it can be used to explore a single city tree or an entire forest ecosystem. And it's not just for kids! My friend who just turned 70 picked it up off my table and learned several new things in just the first 2 Chapters.