Stretch to the Sun: From a Tiny Sprout to the Tallest Tree on Earth [Hardcover]

The tallest tree on earth is located in Redwood National Park in northern California. More than twelve hundred years old, it is approximately 380 feet tall—and still climbing!

A children's book about how a once tiny seedling, deep in the forest of Redwood National Park, that was protected by the animals and plants that surrounded it, stretched toward the sun to become the tallest known tree on earth. It survived ecological and human threats and flourished for over 1200 years. Logging in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries depleted the coastal redwood population significantly. But the creation of Redwood National Park in 1968 helped to save some of the ancient trees, like this one. The tree was discovered by tall tree scientists in 2006, but in the hopes to keep the tree safe, its exact location is kept secret.


Susan Swan’s eye-catching illustrations are made of found objects and hand-painted papers bringing a natural depth and texture to the story.
Peppered with impressive facts about trees and extensive backmatter, Pearson proves that every tree has a story to tell.Readers follow the progress of a tiny sprout as it grows to be one of the tallest redwood trees ever discovered. Lyrical and gentle text, with a bit of understated repetition, sets the scene; this work begs to be read aloud. Swan’s collage-style artwork is appropriately dominated by a gorgeous spectrum of greens and browns. Many small animals and other details are hiding in the illustrations for children to discover. The story is experienced almost entirely from the tree’s perspective, and the tree is not concerned with human names or dates (the more fact-centric text is reserved for the “Facts About Coast Redwoods” back matter, a helpful guide for young kids and adults alike). In the only narrative leap away from the tree, “the president of the United States…signs a law protecting ­ancient trees.” In the back matteló.