The Tree and the River

Starred review from January 30, 2023
In this spectacular wordless tale that takes a long view of time’s passing, Becker (Journey) spotlights a single tree’s life cycle against a changing backdrop of human conflicts, technological change, and natural events. On the bank of a winding river where the light is clear and brilliant, a young tree grows, and diminutive figures raise a structure nearby. A pastoral existence soon gives way to a fortified building on the riverbank, and humans clothed in red and blue seem to prepare for war. A page turn reveals the results: the castle is destroyed, the tree remains, and a city grows up amid the ruins. Technology arrives, with railways and steampunk-style airships; then an industrial landscape, in which gloom pervades the atmosphere; and a futuristic, artificially illuminated night. The tree, its great limbs spreading, is languishing. Another page turn suggests cataclysm as the river runs high and the tree is almost submerged. But an acorn drops—and life persists, starting the cycle anew. In a sweeping, carefully detailed work that’s visually reminiscent of Anno’s Journey, Becker distills a lengthy timeline into bite-size rises and falls whose beats offer hope and solace for the long term. Ages 5–9.

Starred review from May 5, 2023

PreS-Gr 2-Becker delivers another wordless tale with highly detailed illustrations that readers will pore over as they follow the story of the rise and fall of a civilization and nature's ever-present witness to the endeavors of humankind. In a green valley a tree is rooted along the edge of a meandering river. First a house is built, then a town, and the tree is witness to the development. As time passes a city rises full of wondrous innovations but eventually that crumbles as well; the tree remains in its spot. Environmental challenges have their impact and nearing the story's end the tree is beaten and worn but it produces acorns that fall into the river and take root just around the bend from the original tree. While humanity has seemingly been eliminated completely by the conclusion of the book, readers will find that perhaps a different future can be created with a more harmonious relationship between civilization and the natural world. Becker's illustrations are fascinating to behold and his wordless storytelling could serve as a prompt to begin a unit on the development of human civilization or the impact of people on the environment. VERDICT Fascinating and thought-provoking, this title deserves a spot next to Becker's other masterpieces of visual storytelling. Thoughtful and highly engaging.-John Scott

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2022
A wordless memento mori considers our fleeting human existence in the span of a single tree's life. Having established himself as a picture-book creator unafraid of taking the long view, Becker offers an oddly comforting look at how wars, floods, and humanity itself can pass in just a blink of an eye. For most of the book, a tree standing on a single spit of land, hugged by a river, is the focus of the story. One can gauge how much time has passed not by the tree, which ages naturally over the years, but by the civilization that grows up around it, from early settlers who build along the banks to an industrial revolution, modernity, and eventual ecological collapse. Meticulous care is taken with every detail in Becker's pencil, gouache, and digital paint illustrations, leading young readers to try to piece the story of these peoples, ancient, modern, and futuristic, over time. Yet one is ultimately left with a sense of hope. Our world may descend into chaos on occasion, but new life is always on the horizon. With its tiny people (indeed, mostly too tiny to distinguish skin color or features) and distant views of civilization, the book brings to mind some of the best of Mitsumasa Anno's titles, if Anno had been occasionally influenced by Blade Runner. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Look upon this work, ye mighty picture-book creators, and despair. A stunning accomplishment. (Picture book. 4-9)

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Starred review from March 1, 2023
Becker explores many big ideas -- including war, humanity's impact on the environment, and the resilience of nature over time -- through a science-fiction lens. The wordless narrative focuses on an idyllic forested valley split by a river. Multiple double-page spreads depict the river across an undefined span of time and chronicle the relationship between two groups, one on either side of the river: an agricultural-leaning society shown in red clothing and a blue-clad industrialized community. The river is diverted, varying forms of infrastructure (from thatched-roof buildings to futuristic skylines) are built and razed, and conflicts arise between the neighboring factions; a single tree remains a constant presence, even after an environmental disaster leaves the land uninhabitable. Becker then shifts the view to a more intimate and hopeful series of panels to reveal the now-deteriorating tree releasing an acorn into the river, setting into motion the process for new life to begin. The pencil, gouache, and digitally painted illustrations are imaginative, precise, and enigmatic. As with Journey (rev. 9/13) and sequels, Becker's world-building feels cinematic thanks to his dramatic use of color and light. This picture book is sure to spark much discussion regarding humanity's relationships with and responsibilities toward one another and the natural world. Patrick Gall

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2023
Becker explores many big ideas -- including war, humanity's impact on the environment, and the resilience of nature over time -- through a science-fiction lens. The wordless narrative focuses on an idyllic forested valley split by a river. Multiple double-page spreads depict the river across an undefined span of time and chronicle the relationship between two groups, one on either side of the river: an agricultural-leaning society shown in red clothing and a blue-clad industrialized community. The river is diverted, varying forms of infrastructure (from thatched-roof buildings to futuristic skylines) are built and razed, and conflicts arise between the neighboring factions; a single tree remains a constant presence, even after an environmental disaster leaves the land uninhabitable. Becker then shifts the view to a more intimate and hopeful series of panels to reveal the now-deteriorating tree releasing an acorn into the river, setting into motion the process for new life to begin. The pencil, gouache, and digitally painted illustrations are imaginative, precise, and enigmatic. As with Journey (rev. 9/13) and sequels, Becker's world-building feels cinematic thanks to his dramatic use of color and light. This picture book is sure to spark much discussion regarding humanity's relationships with and responsibilities toward one another and the natural world.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)