Trillions of Trees: A Counting and Planting Book

This picture book companion to Billions of Bricks begins with a comedic conceit: the brown-skinned narrator and their pale sister Lizzie attempt to place an order for “a trillium, please,” only for the salesperson to hear “a trillion trees.” After the siblings and their guardians gawk at the delivery, they spring into action, planting 100 trees in their yard before branching out to the rest of the town, a county park, an orchard, and more locations. Myriad trees are mentioned in Cyrus’s bouncy rhymes (“Spruce and hemlock. Cedar, too./ A fir for her, a yew for you”), though finely detailed illustrations don’t differentiate between each varietal or convey the scale of the numerical words. If the logistics merit questioning, this breezy endeavor may well inspire readers to take up a shovel and plant saplings of their own. Includes tree facts. Ages 3–6. [em](Mar.) [/em]