I’m Like a Tree and a Tree’s Like Me

Ages 4 to 7, Grades P to 2

The growth of a tree and of a child parallel each other in this exquisitely constructed die-cut picture book about our nestedness in the natural world

I am a seed.

I grow bigger and bigger each day.

I’m starting to become who I am.

So begins this story, which is also how a child’s life begins… and so too does a tree’s. With an affirming, poetic text and gorgeous, delicate art as revealed through die-cuts on almost every spread, I’m Like a Tree and a Tree’s Like Me is a beautiful picture book about how we begin, how we grow, how we’re nourished, and how we live. By drawing parallels between a growing child and a growing tree, author Sylvaine Jaoui and illustrator Anne Crahay remind us of the myriad ways that humans and plants are connected as living beings.

About the Author

Sylvaine Jaoui (1962–2023) was an award-winning French children’s author. I’m Like a Tree and a Tree’s Like Me is her first picture book to be published in English. Anne Crahay is a Belgian artist and illustrator. While living in the Ardennes Forest, she worked in animation and as a freelance graphic designer. She currently lives in Andrimont, Belgium, and teaches graphic design and illustration at the Saint-Luc Liège School of Art. Claudia Zoe Bedrick is the publisher, editor, and art director of Enchanted Lion Books. Several of her translations have been Batchelder Award and Honor books.