First Forest

by John Gile

This lyrically written tale tells what happens when greed enters the very first, perfect forest and spoils the trees' beauty and peace. Cover to cover full-color art brings the story to life as the gentle fable soft-sells a lesson on the consequences of selfishness and the joy of caring about others.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 1989

Reviews

[Holly]

This book holds a special place in my collection. When I was little my mom took me to an author event with the author & illustrator. I will never forget how both gentlemen spoke to me and autographed my book. The story of why some trees keep their leaves and others do not has stayed with me.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my absolute favorite book of all time. The message is clear: we should learn to love each other and to share; greed and spite are terrible things. The poem is beautiful and the pictures are gorgeous. I would recommend this book to anyone, and especially anyone with children.

[Dave Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Gile did a beautiful job of showing others how to be caring for one another. It brings to the reader a sense of peace and the desire to make the world a better place to share.

[Malcolm]

This is one of my mom's favorites from when she was a little girl!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books in the entire world. I had it when I was little and lost it :( Finally, my mom was able to locate it again and ordered it for me for Christmas. Is it a great story that is similar to a folk tale because it gives reasoning to why something is a certain way. It tells a story about a tree maker who creates the trees. It has beautiful illustrations of what the trees looked like. When they trees became angry and greedy, there is great destruction in the forest. There is a great message in the story. Good for a study of earth day/the environment, teaching about seasons , or folk tales. This can be for elementary or middle school- all ages would really enjoy it!

[Ella Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. The illistrations are beautiful and the Illustrator uses color to show the emotion going through the book. The words are poetic and remind me of a song. The story follows a metaphoric Tree Maker who created and takes care of the trees. This character is a perfect reflection of someone who takes care of the earth.

[Robert Shupe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a captivating story about when trees came about. It has a realistic and magical feel both at the same time.
The illustrations have a chalky texture with pastel colors giving the book a unique look.
It will is certainly a celebration of trees and their natural habitat. You might even want to read the book while leaning against a tree.


*There is a song by Canadian rock group Rush called The Trees and it has a similar theme.

[ConnieLettow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love this one. It seemed to demonize certain types of trees, and promoted a myth about creation. It has a nice moral lesson, just hoped that moral lesson didn't need man magic and make it look like tree lose their leaves because they weren't nice to each other. It would be cool if it was some sort of indigenous tale to show kids what people used to believe, I guess.

[Jordan Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute myth and wonderful vibrant pictures. It is a good fables, but condemns a process that really does happen: trees grew tall exactly to get more sunlight than other plants. I can’t give full marks to a story that intentionally causes confusion with reality.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just beautiful! The art! The message within! The tone! Wonderful, just wonderful!

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favorite children's books. I read it to my first grade class every year when we studied trees. I always asked them what this book was really about. "Trees," would always be the first answer and then I would tell them that it was but to think about what the author was trying to say about people through his story about trees. They always came up with don't hurt your friends and don't be greedy. One day one sweet little boy said, "Oh it's about God and how we might have to be punished if we do something bad, but he always forgives us and gives us another chance!" Wow! What great insight! It still gives me chills to remember that moment.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother met the author of this story and purchased a signed copy for me. This is an adorable moral story about a "tree maker" and why some trees loose their leaves in the winter-time while others stay "evergreen".

[Barbara Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a parable regarding living in harmony with one another versus being greedy. It also gives a non-scientific explanation of why deciduous trees lose their leaves every winter, and postulates the existence of a 'tree maker' so might be considered slightly religious.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful legend for children...

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really cute kids book. It explains why some trees lose their leaves in winter and why some don't. It just a cute story.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books to read to my kids. Beautiful pictures and a great moral.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, lyrical book that explains why some trees lose their leaves and others remain evergreen. A wonderful companion piece to "The Man Who Planted Trees" and other ecological fables.

[Sarah]

Oscar liked it. Made me sad, tho.