Wake Up, Little Pin!: The Story of a Sleepy Sapling by Loretta Garbutt and illustrated by Marianne Ferrer came out in mid-March of 2024. However, I did not learn about it until August of that year. I found an online reader copy and it sounded interesting, but I was not sure at first if I wanted to read it. After a bit I said, why not read a book about a tree? I like trees. I like nature (as long as I’m not in it too long. You know, bugs…). I like books.
And what I got was not what I expected. I think I expected less science and more fiction. The mother tree of the story is ready for spring. Things all around her are waking up. Except for Pin. This little sapling is taking its sweet time to wake up. So, the mother tree does all the things mothers do to wake up their child. Only, while told as a story, it is all based in the actual things nature does to wake itself up. The melting of snow, the mushrooms/fungi sending out nutrient signals, the ins and outs of roots, the sky, the birds, even the mammal that decided to leave a deposit.
Things are really nicely done. Things are fun and educational. It reads as a story so you can do story time, but there is a lot going on and it lets you in on the secrets of trees and the nature ar
ound them. I have done some reading (for older readers) that prepared me for realizing that it was covering the facts really well and still making it easy to understand and digest all the information. This is all paired with some fun and clever illustrations by Ferrer. The colors are both strong and soft, colorful and muted, and all without losing anything and mostly adding (I did get a little distracted a few times… things are pretty!)
Overall it is meant for a younger audience, but I feel it could be adapted to all ages and works for the classroom and home setting. 