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Must Love Trees: An Unconventional Guide
Tobin Mitnick, JewsLoveTrees creator and shameless tree lover, leads you, the tree-curious, through the wonderful world of North American trees with fact, opinion, and humor.
In Must Love Trees, Mitnick invites you to share his deeply personal connection to our forest companions in ways that expand the storied genre of nature writing. From an imagined dialogue with the world’s oldest bristlecone pine, to the minutiae of tree huggability, to the emotional toll of taking up the practice of bonsai, this fresh take into the world of trees is divided into three equally humorous and insightful sections.
The first section discusses Mitnick’s personal opinions and relationship with trees while the second section describes the science behind trees (from tree botany to tree biology to tree ecology). In the final section, Mitnick answers the Who would these trees be if they all attended high school together? Tobin’s detailed description of a tree in action and his thorough run-down of our most-treasured North American trees (all 100 of whom happen to be classmates at “Tree High North America”), makes this compilation an original and occasionally outlandish guide for both the budding and seasoned tree-lover.
Must Love Trees features beautiful drawings of a vast selection of North American trees,
Renowned icons like the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) Beloved favorites like the Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) Historical tragedies like the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) Menacing creepers like Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) Unsung wonders like the Common Paw-Paw (Asimina triloba)
Part textbook, part memoir, and part comedy, Must Love Trees is the most complete—and most unconventional—story of our forest pals ever told.
In Must Love Trees, Mitnick invites you to share his deeply personal connection to our forest companions in ways that expand the storied genre of nature writing. From an imagined dialogue with the world’s oldest bristlecone pine, to the minutiae of tree huggability, to the emotional toll of taking up the practice of bonsai, this fresh take into the world of trees is divided into three equally humorous and insightful sections.
The first section discusses Mitnick’s personal opinions and relationship with trees while the second section describes the science behind trees (from tree botany to tree biology to tree ecology). In the final section, Mitnick answers the Who would these trees be if they all attended high school together? Tobin’s detailed description of a tree in action and his thorough run-down of our most-treasured North American trees (all 100 of whom happen to be classmates at “Tree High North America”), makes this compilation an original and occasionally outlandish guide for both the budding and seasoned tree-lover.
Must Love Trees features beautiful drawings of a vast selection of North American trees,
Renowned icons like the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) Beloved favorites like the Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) Historical tragedies like the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) Menacing creepers like Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) Unsung wonders like the Common Paw-Paw (Asimina triloba)
Part textbook, part memoir, and part comedy, Must Love Trees is the most complete—and most unconventional—story of our forest pals ever told.
- GenresNonfictionNatureScience
461 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 28, 2023
13 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 4, 2023
What an unique book! This is something totally different from most books on trees. I love the writing style, it's quirky and relatable. The drawings are cute and overall art style is nice. If you are looking for a guide to scientifically identify trees, this is not the most useful book. If you're looking for a fun read with nice casual information on trees, check this book out.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to read.
January 29, 2024
truly a fun book with the perfect amount of learning thrown in! i do love trees but in a very shapeless, general love-the-earth kind of way so this was the book for me!
October 27, 2024
I love Tobin and I love trees. But wow I got so much secondhand embarrassment reading this. It’s extremely cheesy. Dare I even say cheugy??? I couldn’t stand it
March 28, 2024
Tobin clearly worked very hard on this book, and there is a lot of material here. He is a comedian, and the memoir part of this book comes through strong.
I love trees, and don’t know much about them, and was hoping to learn more that I would remember later. I am not the audience for this book! it could make more casual readers love trees, and I’m glad my local library made this available.
Trees need more fans, all kinds of fans. Tobin might be bringing in some new ones. For a first book, this is high-quality production, at least in terms of artistic sketches, layout and design polish.
I love trees, and don’t know much about them, and was hoping to learn more that I would remember later. I am not the audience for this book! it could make more casual readers love trees, and I’m glad my local library made this available.
Trees need more fans, all kinds of fans. Tobin might be bringing in some new ones. For a first book, this is high-quality production, at least in terms of artistic sketches, layout and design polish.
July 31, 2023
#HotTreeSummer? I’m for it.
Must Love Trees is a cheesy & charming unconventional beginner’s guide to trees. Author Tobin Mitnick’s adoration for trees shines through every page, and his eagerness is catching.
The beginning of the book is a jumble of personal and pseudo-personal stories, which were really engaging (and one fictionalized story in particular was strikingly poignant) but a bit chaotically organized.
Then there’s a brief section on what makes up a tree - and then the bulk of the book is spent going through a selection of North American trees one by one. Mitnick frames all of this at “Tree High”, giving the trees superlatives, bleacher placements, and more. This was fun, but 100+ pages of this specific silly format is a lot. I kind of wished he switched it up when he moved from one tree category to the next.
It’s fun and it’s cheeky. I adored the illustrations and was bummed to see that they weren’t on every page - it’s hard to get a grasp on each tree without seeing it depicted in some way!
CW: brief mentions of mental illness
Follow me on TikTok for book recommendations!
(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Must Love Trees is a cheesy & charming unconventional beginner’s guide to trees. Author Tobin Mitnick’s adoration for trees shines through every page, and his eagerness is catching.
The beginning of the book is a jumble of personal and pseudo-personal stories, which were really engaging (and one fictionalized story in particular was strikingly poignant) but a bit chaotically organized.
Then there’s a brief section on what makes up a tree - and then the bulk of the book is spent going through a selection of North American trees one by one. Mitnick frames all of this at “Tree High”, giving the trees superlatives, bleacher placements, and more. This was fun, but 100+ pages of this specific silly format is a lot. I kind of wished he switched it up when he moved from one tree category to the next.
It’s fun and it’s cheeky. I adored the illustrations and was bummed to see that they weren’t on every page - it’s hard to get a grasp on each tree without seeing it depicted in some way!
CW: brief mentions of mental illness
Follow me on TikTok for book recommendations!
(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
May 5, 2023
I love the idea of a guide that doesn’t take itself too seriously and explains things in plain (& fun) language while still sharing great info! I liked seeing Tobin’s unique personality and perspective on trees come through in the book.
There were some parts I really enjoyed, such as the bonsai section and the surprisingly touching tale in chapter 5 from a…tiny dude who lives in a pinecone? I liked that one a lot.
The book’s illustrations are great - they added a lot to the vibe of the book and also helped illustrate the information shared.
I found the actual tree guide portion of the book a bit meh, with the Tree High concept getting old before long & feeling sort of contrived.
As well, the organization of the rest of the book felt disjointed sometimes. Like there’s a bunch of interesting 1-3 page sections, but they’re a bit random coming one after the other.
There were some parts I really enjoyed, such as the bonsai section and the surprisingly touching tale in chapter 5 from a…tiny dude who lives in a pinecone? I liked that one a lot.
The book’s illustrations are great - they added a lot to the vibe of the book and also helped illustrate the information shared.
I found the actual tree guide portion of the book a bit meh, with the Tree High concept getting old before long & feeling sort of contrived.
As well, the organization of the rest of the book felt disjointed sometimes. Like there’s a bunch of interesting 1-3 page sections, but they’re a bit random coming one after the other.
March 27, 2023
I didn’t know much about trees and now I still don’t?
Thanks to Quarto Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
From the moment I saw Tobias Mitnick post on his thirst trap Instagram @jewslovetrees that he had written a book, I knew it would be funny. It certainly has funny moments, but unfortunately it is also disjointed and defies genre, perhaps not in a good way. I expected to learn a lot about different types of trees while laughing about Mitnick’s anecdotes and observations, but he admits to not being an expert and sticks to his guns by offering rankings, ratings, and personal stories that seem to be randomly organized and offered. Part 1 is very much like this, but then he does offer a more organized format subsequently. Overall, not what I’d hoped.
Thanks to Quarto Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
From the moment I saw Tobias Mitnick post on his thirst trap Instagram @jewslovetrees that he had written a book, I knew it would be funny. It certainly has funny moments, but unfortunately it is also disjointed and defies genre, perhaps not in a good way. I expected to learn a lot about different types of trees while laughing about Mitnick’s anecdotes and observations, but he admits to not being an expert and sticks to his guns by offering rankings, ratings, and personal stories that seem to be randomly organized and offered. Part 1 is very much like this, but then he does offer a more organized format subsequently. Overall, not what I’d hoped.
April 26, 2023
This book is extremely quirky and weird (an adjective the author embraces, not trying to be rude!), but not as great as I hoped it would be.
I follow the author's Instagram account and am often entertained by his goofy videos about trees. I hoped this book would be a bit more cohesive and personal, but I felt like we were kept at bay from a truly great person/story by random, disjointed stories and humor used as a deflection.
This book lives up to its subtitle - "unconventional" - and is unique and genre-defying. It is visually quite beautiful. I really enjoyed the artwork. If that's your jam, you'll love it.
If you're looking for a more personal memoir with a clear direction and story arch or a more informative - albeit casual - book about trees, this isn't exactly it.
I follow the author's Instagram account and am often entertained by his goofy videos about trees. I hoped this book would be a bit more cohesive and personal, but I felt like we were kept at bay from a truly great person/story by random, disjointed stories and humor used as a deflection.
This book lives up to its subtitle - "unconventional" - and is unique and genre-defying. It is visually quite beautiful. I really enjoyed the artwork. If that's your jam, you'll love it.
If you're looking for a more personal memoir with a clear direction and story arch or a more informative - albeit casual - book about trees, this isn't exactly it.
June 17, 2023
3.5 stars for humor and ingenuity. Is this a book about trees? Yes. Is this a serious book about trees? Absolutely not. This is primarily a humor book, very funny, even a section on tree puns.
I follow the author on Instagram and like to support folks that provide me with free entertainment. I also love trees. It’s indeed an unconventional guide to trees.
I follow the author on Instagram and like to support folks that provide me with free entertainment. I also love trees. It’s indeed an unconventional guide to trees.
February 26, 2024
I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This is an extremely detailed book about trees. There is information nearly everything about trees including pine trees, tree ecology, and my personal favorite hug ability. Who knew that was a thing!! The author then has a one page info sheet on just about any tree you can think of.
August 6, 2023
This book is hilarious. There are so many funny pop culture references. You don't have to like trees to like this book; in fact, you may even enjoy the book more if you don't have any particular interest in trees. If you like to laugh, you will like this book.
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December 30, 2023Highly amusing and mildly educational
January 2, 2024
This was a sweet, fun, silly book. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
November 30, 2024
I wanted to love this book SO much. I really really did try to love it. But the excessive snarkiness? the conifer bias? the neglect of consistent design practices? the lack of a cohesive narrative? aaaaAAAAA. The concept could've worked so WELL. I WANT TO REDESIGN AND EDIT IT ALL.
July 14, 2025
DNF- enjoyed but became cumbersome. Love Tobins IG but found myself reading the book with my Field Guide to feel like I was getting more out of it. Didn't care for the stadium metaphor but overall enjoyed. Don't feel like I need to finish so DNF, will keep with my other tree books and cherish.
September 29, 2024
Silly, clever, and educational. A brave attempt at light-hearted taxonomy.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews