The Happiness Tree

I read a super sweet little picture book this morning called The Happiness Tree (Andrea Alban Gosline).  It's written in rhyming couplets, and the illustrations are precious. There are ten trees in the story, and each one embodies a lovely quality (compassion, generosity, peace, tolerance).  And each tree has a kind expression on its face and a bird in its branches.

Here's a sample page:

---
I am the tree of gratitude.

I give my thanks for rainy days,
cotton clouds crowned with rays,
refreshing air the forest clears,
quench my thirst as summer nears.

I appreciate.

---
I'm having a bit of a poopy evening, so I'm sort of wondering ... where is the tree of disappointment?

Okay, back to the nice tree book.  According to what I've been learning about using picture books in high school classrooms, this book would not work well. There are no characters, no plot, and no moral dilemmas or thorny issues. I think it might be useful as a creative writing exercise -- perhaps ask students what quality they best embody and then write two couplets to illustrate?

For example ...

I am the teacher of the second chance.

I encourage my precious kids
when at my desk their panicked bids
beseech me for another try
and at my nod, they hugely sigh.

I offer.

---

Okay, well, that was pretty lame, but hey, I wrote it in like five minutes. You get the idea.

P.S. The back of the book lists all the state trees. How cute is that?