What do you think?
Rate this book
The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever
Unearth the true story of green-thumbed pioneer and activist Kate Sessions, who helped San Diego grow from a dry desert town into a lush, leafy city known for its gorgeous parks and gardens.
Katherine Olivia Sessions never thought she’d live in a place without trees. After all, Kate grew up among the towering pines and redwoods of Northern California. But after becoming the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science, she took a job as a teacher far south in the dry desert town of San Diego. Where there were almost no trees.
Kate decided that San Diego needed trees more than anything else. So this trailblazing young woman singlehandedly started a massive movement that transformed the town into the green, garden-filled oasis it is today. Now, more than 100 years after Kate first arrived in San Diego, her gorgeous gardens and parks can be found all over the city.
Part fascinating biography, part inspirational story, this moving picture book about following your dreams, using your talents, and staying strong in the face of adversity is sure to resonate with readers young and old.
Katherine Olivia Sessions never thought she’d live in a place without trees. After all, Kate grew up among the towering pines and redwoods of Northern California. But after becoming the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science, she took a job as a teacher far south in the dry desert town of San Diego. Where there were almost no trees.
Kate decided that San Diego needed trees more than anything else. So this trailblazing young woman singlehandedly started a massive movement that transformed the town into the green, garden-filled oasis it is today. Now, more than 100 years after Kate first arrived in San Diego, her gorgeous gardens and parks can be found all over the city.
Part fascinating biography, part inspirational story, this moving picture book about following your dreams, using your talents, and staying strong in the face of adversity is sure to resonate with readers young and old.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 17, 2013
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 418 reviews
October 1, 2013
Two of my favorite things-- trees and books about the remarkable achievements of ordinary people-- come together in this beautiful picture book biography about Kate Sessions, who transformed San Diego by cultivating and planting thousands of trees and plants.
February 27, 2014
An engaging and glowing biography of a very courageous, intelligent and insightful woman. Definitely one to add to your "girl power" shelf ;-) I think it would also be of special interest to those who love trees and gardens, as well as to Californians or anyone who has visited San Diego.
I really wanted to know more about how the trees she brought in affected the native plants and animals. While certainly her work is admirable in one regard, I always feel concern about the native species that are affected when huge amounts of non-native flora are brought to an area. Of course, I guess the city was there anyway so that was already disruptive so may as well make it beautiful, too ;-) and she did plant things suitable to the climate so that was good!
I really wanted to know more about how the trees she brought in affected the native plants and animals. While certainly her work is admirable in one regard, I always feel concern about the native species that are affected when huge amounts of non-native flora are brought to an area. Of course, I guess the city was there anyway so that was already disruptive so may as well make it beautiful, too ;-) and she did plant things suitable to the climate so that was good!
September 12, 2015
I didn't like the book's constant hammering of the theme of the lone rebel. Everything gets put into that context, even when not appropriate: "Kate missed studying science and was not sure she would stay on the job. But for two years, she did." So, actually she didn't stay on the job (and in truth, she was only there from January 1884 to June 1885). No mention (not even in the author's note) is made of colleagues such as Alfred D. Robinson, co-founder and first president of the San Diego Floral Association. The "one tree-loving woman" idea is compelling, but apparently not factual.
The illustrations were lovely.
The illustrations were lovely.
March 24, 2016
I just realized I never wrote up this book. I was impressed enough that I purchased copies for every branch. This lady, Kate Sessions, is the one who made the most famous park containing world renowned institutions in San Diego by designing an exquisite park: Balboa Park, containing the San Diego Zoo and other famous museums. She also made San Diego a City of trees. This legacy is now being continued in San Diego by TreeSD who plans to make an "Urban Canopy" covering the City of San Diego. Ultimately having more trees will actually SAVE water by not allowing so much to evaporate since they retain water and shade the area, lowering the temperature of their microclimate. At this point in time, I cannot remember details. Simply that it was intrinsic to local history, thus deserved to be in all branches. However, I do remember that it was lovely and well done. It should be read by many in the Southwest and west as a guide to what to do to combat climate change, a concept unheard of in Sessions's time.
December 4, 2013
Richie's Picks: THE TREE LADY: THE TRUE STORY OF HOW ONE TREE-LOVING WOMAN CHANGED A CITY FOREVER by H. Joseph Hopkins and Jill McElmurry, ill., Beach Lane/Simon and Schuster, September 2013, 32p., ISBN: 978-1-4424-1402-0
"She loved the way they reached toward the sky and how their branches stretched wide to catch the light. Trees seemed to Kate like giant umbrellas that sheltered her and the animals, birds, and plants that lived in the forest.
"Not everyone feels at home in the woods.
"But Kate did.
"When Kate grew up, she left home to study science in college. She looked at soil and insects through a microscope. She learned how plants made food and how they drank water. And she studied trees from around the world.
"No woman had ever graduated from the University of California with a degree in science.
"But in 1881, Kate did."
Kate Sessions is known as the mother of San Diego's 1,200 acre Balboa Park. Almost every big, old tree in that park and around the city is one that she grew and planted. Thanks to all the trees and plants she planted in Balboa, she was the unsung hero of San Diego's successful Panama-California Exposition in the park a century ago.
I've been down in San Diego a couple of times for American Library Association conventions. Yet I didn't have a clue that it once was a desert town. And that's the legacy of tree-lover Kate Sessions, who grew up in northern California, ended up in San Diego as a teacher, but then left teaching to become a gardener. It was at this point that she "wrote letters to gardeners all over the world and asked them to send her seeds that could grow in a desert." The results are history.
To me, this inspirational picture book for older readers has so many things going for it. I love true stories about women from the past who have accomplished big things. The old Boy Scout in me loves that the big thing Kate Sessions accomplished was to plant a crazy number of trees, turning a desert city into a lush one. I really love the illustrations here, which are very reminiscent of Barbara Cooney's folk style. And I love that, as I learned in the Author's Note, Kate Sessions also wrote newspaper and magazine articles sharing her extensive horticultural expertise (and no doubt her love of trees) with the public.
A scientist, tree lover, and writer? This tree lady rocked!
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
https://www.facebook.com/richie.parti...
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
"She loved the way they reached toward the sky and how their branches stretched wide to catch the light. Trees seemed to Kate like giant umbrellas that sheltered her and the animals, birds, and plants that lived in the forest.
"Not everyone feels at home in the woods.
"But Kate did.
"When Kate grew up, she left home to study science in college. She looked at soil and insects through a microscope. She learned how plants made food and how they drank water. And she studied trees from around the world.
"No woman had ever graduated from the University of California with a degree in science.
"But in 1881, Kate did."
Kate Sessions is known as the mother of San Diego's 1,200 acre Balboa Park. Almost every big, old tree in that park and around the city is one that she grew and planted. Thanks to all the trees and plants she planted in Balboa, she was the unsung hero of San Diego's successful Panama-California Exposition in the park a century ago.
I've been down in San Diego a couple of times for American Library Association conventions. Yet I didn't have a clue that it once was a desert town. And that's the legacy of tree-lover Kate Sessions, who grew up in northern California, ended up in San Diego as a teacher, but then left teaching to become a gardener. It was at this point that she "wrote letters to gardeners all over the world and asked them to send her seeds that could grow in a desert." The results are history.
To me, this inspirational picture book for older readers has so many things going for it. I love true stories about women from the past who have accomplished big things. The old Boy Scout in me loves that the big thing Kate Sessions accomplished was to plant a crazy number of trees, turning a desert city into a lush one. I really love the illustrations here, which are very reminiscent of Barbara Cooney's folk style. And I love that, as I learned in the Author's Note, Kate Sessions also wrote newspaper and magazine articles sharing her extensive horticultural expertise (and no doubt her love of trees) with the public.
A scientist, tree lover, and writer? This tree lady rocked!
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
https://www.facebook.com/richie.parti...
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
December 6, 2013
Kate Sessions is the woman who made San Diego into the green city that it is today. She was a pioneering female scientist who grew up in the forests of Northern California. After becoming the first woman to graduate with a degree in science from the University of California, she moved to San Diego to be a teacher. San Diego was a desert town with almost no trees at all. So Kate decided to change all of that and began to hunt for trees that survive and thrive in a desert. Soon trees were being planted all over San Diego, but that was not enough for Kate who then worked to fill entire parks with her trees and gardens. Kate Sessions was a remarkable woman who helped San Diego become the great city it is today.
Hopkins takes a playful approach to this picture book biography. From the beginning he uses a format that ends each new event in Kate Session’s life with “But Kate did.” Not only does this create a strong structure for the story, but it shows Session’s determination to not be swayed by what others thought was possible. From the beginning, she was a unique person with a unique vision. It is that vision and her strength in the face of societal opposition that made her so successful.
McElmurry’s illustrations add a beauty to the book. She captures the lush green of the California forests and then allows readers to experience the transformation of San Diego from a barren desert to the lush green of Session’s many trees. She also shows all of the hard work that it took to make that transformation possible.
Sessions will be a newly found historical figure for most of us, and what an inspiration she is! Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Hopkins takes a playful approach to this picture book biography. From the beginning he uses a format that ends each new event in Kate Session’s life with “But Kate did.” Not only does this create a strong structure for the story, but it shows Session’s determination to not be swayed by what others thought was possible. From the beginning, she was a unique person with a unique vision. It is that vision and her strength in the face of societal opposition that made her so successful.
McElmurry’s illustrations add a beauty to the book. She captures the lush green of the California forests and then allows readers to experience the transformation of San Diego from a barren desert to the lush green of Session’s many trees. She also shows all of the hard work that it took to make that transformation possible.
Sessions will be a newly found historical figure for most of us, and what an inspiration she is! Appropriate for ages 4-6.
October 27, 2019
The role of Katherine Olivia Sessions in promoting a greener, more tree-centered park and city in San Diego is explored in this engaging picture-book biography of the late 19th and early 20th-century horticulturist. Nicknamed the 'Mother of Balboa Park,' Kate was the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science. A life-long tree-lover, Kate was raised in northern California, where arboreal life was plentiful. When she moved to San Diego to teach, after graduating from college, she was dismayed to find her new city was practically bare of trees. She soon set out to change that, transforming a city in the process...
I appreciate stories about people who have a positive impact on the world around them, and I like learning about those who were notable in their own time and place, but who have subsequently slipped into obscurity, so The Tree Lady was just my cup of tea. H. Joseph Hopkins' narrative is engaging, and children will enjoy reading about (or listening to) Kate's story. An afterword at the back give more information about the eponymous 'tree lady,' while the gouache artwork by Jill McElmurry captures her life journey from tree-loving girl to mature horticulturist. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about making cities more green - The Curious Garden also springs to mind, in this regard - and to those wanting tales about ground-breaking women.
I appreciate stories about people who have a positive impact on the world around them, and I like learning about those who were notable in their own time and place, but who have subsequently slipped into obscurity, so The Tree Lady was just my cup of tea. H. Joseph Hopkins' narrative is engaging, and children will enjoy reading about (or listening to) Kate's story. An afterword at the back give more information about the eponymous 'tree lady,' while the gouache artwork by Jill McElmurry captures her life journey from tree-loving girl to mature horticulturist. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about making cities more green - The Curious Garden also springs to mind, in this regard - and to those wanting tales about ground-breaking women.
May 12, 2018
This biography is about an amazing and less familiar botanist/horticulturist named Katie Sessions who not only achieved a college education from Berkeley in 1881 but eventually founded Balboa Park in San Diego, CA.
November 27, 2014
Gorgeous illustrations. Gorgeous writing.
If you're using Notice and Note, this has a great example of Again and Again.
If you're using Notice and Note, this has a great example of Again and Again.
January 3, 2022
An okay picture book biography with pretty illustrations. The refrain of "but she did" on every page became annoying partway through.
March 17, 2015
1. I would pair this book with the twin text "The Great Paper Caper" by Oliver Jeffers, copyright 2008.
2. This is a great book to go along with the true story of a woman who helped to beautify San Diego by planting many trees (in fact, most of their trees). In this story, trees have started disappearing and so the characters in the story are determined to get to the bottom of the disappearances. Both stories show that there is a central theme of trees being important to lives of both people and animals. These stories can be used together around Arbor Day time or a recycling unit in order to help students brainstorm ways to beautify their neighborhoods and take care of the earth around them.
3. Once again, this nonfiction story surrounds events and so it is told using a chronological sequence structure. There is a problem-solution aspect to the story as well.
4. I think the best strategy to use with both of these stories is a problem and solution diagram. Students can see what the big problem was in the city of San Diego and how one lady solved that problem by finding trees that can grow in hard-to-grow places like deserts. Also, they can see how to solve the problem of the missing trees and how bear could right a wrong by planting more trees. Perhaps, in this way, it will lend itself naturally to a project they could do in order to solve their own neighborhood problem.
2. This is a great book to go along with the true story of a woman who helped to beautify San Diego by planting many trees (in fact, most of their trees). In this story, trees have started disappearing and so the characters in the story are determined to get to the bottom of the disappearances. Both stories show that there is a central theme of trees being important to lives of both people and animals. These stories can be used together around Arbor Day time or a recycling unit in order to help students brainstorm ways to beautify their neighborhoods and take care of the earth around them.
3. Once again, this nonfiction story surrounds events and so it is told using a chronological sequence structure. There is a problem-solution aspect to the story as well.
4. I think the best strategy to use with both of these stories is a problem and solution diagram. Students can see what the big problem was in the city of San Diego and how one lady solved that problem by finding trees that can grow in hard-to-grow places like deserts. Also, they can see how to solve the problem of the missing trees and how bear could right a wrong by planting more trees. Perhaps, in this way, it will lend itself naturally to a project they could do in order to solve their own neighborhood problem.
March 25, 2014
The Tree Lady
(2013, October 1). School Library Journal. http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=0...
Text Structure: Chronological Sequence
Fiction Twin Text: “A Tree for Emmy” by Mary Ann Rodman (2009)
Rationale: “The Tree Lady” chronicles the life of Katherine Olivia Sessions who loved trees and planted incredible gardens throughout San Diego. “A Tree for Emmy” who wants a tree more than anything for her birthday. The two stories nicely parallel each other in that the main characters are both passionate about trees.
Strategy Application: Venn Diagram-Use a Venn diagram to compare the main characters in both stories. In what ways were the characters alike and in what ways were they different? Discuss with students how comparing and contrasting two texts helped them more completely understand each individually. For a writing activity ask students to journal about what the two characters might say or do together if they met.
(2013, October 1). School Library Journal. http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=0...
Text Structure: Chronological Sequence
Fiction Twin Text: “A Tree for Emmy” by Mary Ann Rodman (2009)
Rationale: “The Tree Lady” chronicles the life of Katherine Olivia Sessions who loved trees and planted incredible gardens throughout San Diego. “A Tree for Emmy” who wants a tree more than anything for her birthday. The two stories nicely parallel each other in that the main characters are both passionate about trees.
Strategy Application: Venn Diagram-Use a Venn diagram to compare the main characters in both stories. In what ways were the characters alike and in what ways were they different? Discuss with students how comparing and contrasting two texts helped them more completely understand each individually. For a writing activity ask students to journal about what the two characters might say or do together if they met.
November 18, 2013
This is a wonderful biography of Katherine Olivia Sessions, who is called the Mother of Balboa Park in San Diego. The story explains about Kate's passion for the sciences and her groundbreaking accomplishments.
I love that she was never content to listen to what others told her she could or could not do, but followed her own ideas and passions and really did what she thought was best. We were amazed by the transformation of that dusty, desert town and although I don't think I've ever been to Balboa Park, we have seen San Diego and it is truly a lush, green, beautiful place filled with plants and trees and flowers.
The narrative is not too long, and the author's note at the end of the book provides additional information about her life. We really enjoyed reading this book together.
I love that she was never content to listen to what others told her she could or could not do, but followed her own ideas and passions and really did what she thought was best. We were amazed by the transformation of that dusty, desert town and although I don't think I've ever been to Balboa Park, we have seen San Diego and it is truly a lush, green, beautiful place filled with plants and trees and flowers.
The narrative is not too long, and the author's note at the end of the book provides additional information about her life. We really enjoyed reading this book together.
November 9, 2014
Full-disclosure: I bought this book mostly because *I* love children's picture books...and the main charcter, Kate Sessions happens to share her name with *my* daughter who is also a tree-loving little girl, although my hubby so kindly pointed out, she may be outgrowing picture books.
I disagree. Anyone and everyone can love picture books; they are truly a wonderful foray into the world of literature.
And so my love for children's literature never dies. And neither does San Francisco, which was once dry and desert-like and has been transformed in a lush green garden by Kate Sessions who was quite visionary for a time in which women--and girls especially--were seen and not heard (and often, not educated).
Part environmentalism, history, biography, and girls-can-do-anything motto, THE TREE LADY will change not just a city forever, but you too.
I disagree. Anyone and everyone can love picture books; they are truly a wonderful foray into the world of literature.
And so my love for children's literature never dies. And neither does San Francisco, which was once dry and desert-like and has been transformed in a lush green garden by Kate Sessions who was quite visionary for a time in which women--and girls especially--were seen and not heard (and often, not educated).
Part environmentalism, history, biography, and girls-can-do-anything motto, THE TREE LADY will change not just a city forever, but you too.
November 1, 2013
The tree lady left an impression on me. Yes...Katy did. Students will be exposed to many different things in this book....not just trees and how to grow them in desert climates. Students will learn the character traits of perseverance, tenacity, pursuing a dream, engaging other people to follow that dream with you. Students will also understand that sometimes you have to do something you aren't very interested in (in Katie's case- teaching, before you can pursue your dream. Illustrations are beautiful....and if you didn't like the color green before reading this book, you certainly will afterward.
December 16, 2013
I will admit that I bought this book because I have been in awe of its gorgeous cover and I knew it was about an inspirational woman who transformed an entire city. Love it for its passionate celebration of nature. For its gorgeous illustrations. Or for its important historical journey back in time beginning in the 1860s with a little girl named Katherine Olivia Sessions. A little girl who brought lush, green life to the city of San Diego. A woman who studied science when other women and girls did not. A woman who took what she had learned it and applied it in the most important of ways and brought a city to life. And oh, that cover . . .
February 14, 2015
A beautiful book. This book was given an award from the "Friends of Children and Literature" (FOCAL) by the Los Angeles Public Library Children's Literature Department. It tells the story of how Kate Sessions designed and planted the trees for Balboa Park in San Diego. It was very informative even to me who just thought the park "appeared" one day! Anyone who visits San Diego always goes to the famous zoo and Balboa Park. They're wonderful places and gorgeous with all the plants and flowers. Now I know a little more about who and how developed these great places.
November 8, 2017
I'm a tree-hugger, in the most literal sense. I love the often-overlooked, old-fashioned holiday of Arbor Day (yearly on the last Friday in April). This book makes me yearn to plant trees every day of the year. The Tree Lady is a biographical account for children, about the life of Kate Sessions, "The Mother of Balboa Park," in San Diego. Much more than that, it's a lovely and inspiring non-fiction children's book, that reads like a story. A story of hope, nature, trees, and a very determined lady.
From the inside cover: "Meet Kate Sessions, a young woman with a grand passion for trees. She has guts. She has vigor. And she has a vision - a green, leafy vision that will one day transform a city."
Kate lived from the 1860s through 1940, and was enraptured by science. In 1881 she was the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science. But rather than a dry recitation of facts, The Tree Lady is a happy, inspirational, never-give-up account of a life well-lived. Beautiful gouache art by Jill McElmurry depicts both nature and characters equally well, with a relaxing color palette and engaging scenes. I particularly loved the birds'-eye view of young Kate from above, in a small clearing surrounded by tall, glorious trees. The muddy handprints were fun too!
Teachers devoted to science might read this tale with elementary-aged students... especially on Ada Lovelace Day (every year on the second Tuesday in October). This is the most engaging children's tale of a woman-in-science that I've yet come across. When I taught Kindergarten, I would have paraphrased this story in a read-aloud for Arbor Day (had I known of the book then), and followed up with our annual planting: maple tree seeds and Dixie cups and potting soil, for kiddos to each plant and take home their own soon-to-be-tree.
Reminiscent of another great children's book about caring for the natural world, Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney, which tells the tale of "the lupine lady." The Tree Lady is suitable for grades K - 5. 32 pages. Informative final page with biographical facts about Kate Sessions. I read a hard bound library edition.
From the inside cover: "Meet Kate Sessions, a young woman with a grand passion for trees. She has guts. She has vigor. And she has a vision - a green, leafy vision that will one day transform a city."
Kate lived from the 1860s through 1940, and was enraptured by science. In 1881 she was the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science. But rather than a dry recitation of facts, The Tree Lady is a happy, inspirational, never-give-up account of a life well-lived. Beautiful gouache art by Jill McElmurry depicts both nature and characters equally well, with a relaxing color palette and engaging scenes. I particularly loved the birds'-eye view of young Kate from above, in a small clearing surrounded by tall, glorious trees. The muddy handprints were fun too!
Teachers devoted to science might read this tale with elementary-aged students... especially on Ada Lovelace Day (every year on the second Tuesday in October). This is the most engaging children's tale of a woman-in-science that I've yet come across. When I taught Kindergarten, I would have paraphrased this story in a read-aloud for Arbor Day (had I known of the book then), and followed up with our annual planting: maple tree seeds and Dixie cups and potting soil, for kiddos to each plant and take home their own soon-to-be-tree.
Reminiscent of another great children's book about caring for the natural world, Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney, which tells the tale of "the lupine lady." The Tree Lady is suitable for grades K - 5. 32 pages. Informative final page with biographical facts about Kate Sessions. I read a hard bound library edition.
May 21, 2014
What an amazing woman Katherine Olivia Sessions was. I've never been to San Diego nor had I ever herd of Sessions before being encouraged to read this story. I've now added to my "Must Do in the Next Two Years" list a visit to San Diego so I can visit and see for myself the beauty that Sessions built from her heart, with her hands and the love of trees. This book was beautifully written and very inspiring. This would be a great read for females especially because it teaches us that it's okay not to follow the norm (doing what society thinks we should) and to follow your heart and always pursue your dreams.
The illustrations were done beautifully and captures the story quite well. My favorite part of this story is when it tells about Sessions being the first female to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science. This actually gave me goosebumps. I can only imagine what the males of her graduating class must have been thinking:)
This book is full of hope and inspiration, and I would definitely recommend this book be read aloud with students, families and friends.
The illustrations were done beautifully and captures the story quite well. My favorite part of this story is when it tells about Sessions being the first female to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science. This actually gave me goosebumps. I can only imagine what the males of her graduating class must have been thinking:)
This book is full of hope and inspiration, and I would definitely recommend this book be read aloud with students, families and friends.
August 30, 2013
Threading the repeated phrase "But Kate did" (unpaged) throughout the narrative, this picture book biography provides ready evidence of what one person can do to change the world. Kate Sessions grew up during the 1860s when females weren't supposed to get their hands dirty or study science. She rebelled against societal expectations, graduated with a science degree, and began teaching in San Diego where there very few trees. She became a gardener and changed the appearance of the city, searching for and planting trees that would thrive in its particular environment. When planners wanted more trees for a huge exposition, Kate and her volunteers lent a hand. The gouache illustrations display the verdure of these marvelous trees and the never-say-quit spirit of the woman who helped fashion Balboa Park into the lovely space it now is.
December 18, 2013
A lovely story. A feminist story of a woman in science -- the first woman to graduate from the U of California with a degree in science (1881). Of a nature advocate, gardener, person who changed the world. The text is carefully chosen, with effective echoes of "but she did/but Kate did."
McElmurray's pictures remind me of Barbara Cooney's work. Love the hand prints in the beginning ("girls from Kate's side of town weren't fupposed to get their hands dirty. / But Kate did."
McElmurray's pictures remind me of Barbara Cooney's work. Love the hand prints in the beginning ("girls from Kate's side of town weren't fupposed to get their hands dirty. / But Kate did."
October 4, 2013
Notes: Kate Simmons biography. She loved trees as a child, studied plants and trees in college in the 1880s and was really surprised by how few trees there were in San Diego's city park. She left teaching to become a gardener and worked with the city to plant one hundred trees. Her hard work is still enjoyed by millions who visit San Diego's Balboa Park.
October 22, 2013
Kate Session, inspired by her love of science and trees, started San Diego's beautiful tree-filled parks. This simply told story is ideal for students in grades 1 -2 and this book could be used for Earth Day, Arbor Day, as part of a biography unit, or any other nature themed lesson. I loved the pictures, the repetition of 'But Kate did' in the story and the inspiring message.
January 13, 2014
Gorgeous illustrations. More of a biography about Kate Sessions. She was the first woman to graduate from the UC system. Also, the reason why San Diego is so gorgeous. She found drought-tolerant trees and planted them in Balboa Park.
Keywords: trees, planting, Women's History Month, California history, San Diego history, Can-do spirit
Keywords: trees, planting, Women's History Month, California history, San Diego history, Can-do spirit
January 16, 2021
I’m constantly in search of picture books with a historical background. This one did not disappoint.
I had never heard this story before and couldn’t wait to introduce my 4th grade class to such a brave, innovative and smart woman!
Books about women in science and nature are so needed in our world today. I used this book for a whole week for literacy lessons and my class thoroughly enjoyed it.
Next time I travel to San Diego I will surely look at the trees and land around me much differently. Great story with beautiful illustrations.
I had never heard this story before and couldn’t wait to introduce my 4th grade class to such a brave, innovative and smart woman!
Books about women in science and nature are so needed in our world today. I used this book for a whole week for literacy lessons and my class thoroughly enjoyed it.
Next time I travel to San Diego I will surely look at the trees and land around me much differently. Great story with beautiful illustrations.
February 10, 2021
In the book the Tree Lady you discover the real inspiring story of Kate Sessions, a green-thumbed pioneer and activist who helped San Diego develop from a dry desert city into a lush, leafy city known for its beautiful parks and gardens. This story is very inspirational as it takes place in times where women weren't supposed to get their hands dirty and she did the opposite and saved San Diego. She made it a very beautiful and lush place. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in nature and plant life as it is all about nature and caring for it.
March 20, 2024
I personally love this book and learning about a great role model like Katherine Sessions. However, I do find it a bit too long for littles to stay engaged but am optimistic that with time my little book worm will love it as much as I do! I also think that the illustrations are a bit dull for a younger audience. The recommended age is 4-8, I'm personally aiming for my little to sit through the whole thing between the ages 6-8.
October 12, 2017
A beautifully illustrated telling of how Kate Sessions came to be the woman behind San Diego's City Park treescapes. From childhood aspirations and love of nature to her tenacious actions to preserve and showcase it. A woman after my own heart! Delightful for all ages.
June 6, 2018
Full review on my blog: https://www.theproblemsite.com/book-s...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 418 reviews