Tove Under the Tree

When old age and warming temperatures doom the beloved ficus outside young Tove’s window—the tree that shaded her bedroom during the day and “held up the stars at night”—the girl salvages the one scrappy twig that retains a green leaf. She then presses it to her scalp, and using the most incantatory words she knows (“Mama, Grandma Harriet, me... churros, sunshine, soccer”), invites it to root. In the short chapters that follow, spot illustrations by Benbassat (There’s That Sun Again), rendered in soft earth tones and flowing, rounded lines, chronicle how family and neighbors take the transformation in stride (“It’s avant garde” proclaims one) as the rapidly growing ficus on Tove’s head becomes a congenial, wisecracking companion (asked if it slept well, the tree replies, “Like a log”). But after Tove and the now-weighty plant topple while making an impressive soccer save, the tree realizes that the time has come to put down roots of its own—and with neighborhood support finds just the right spot. Employing quirky humor and an eclectic, accepting sense of both community and individuality, Theule (Mouseboat) blurs fantasy and reality to consider themes of ecological interdependence. Characters are portrayed with various body types and skin tones. Ages 6–9. (Oct.)