The Tree Lady - a review
Hopkins, H. Joseph. 2013. The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever . Ill. by Ji ll McElmurry . From her school, Kate could see City Park in the hills above town. It was called a park, but it didn't look like one. It was where people grazed cattle and dumped garbage. Most San Diegans didn't think trees could ever grow there. But Kate did. With a recurring theme of "but Kate did," T he Tree Lady recounts how Kate Sessions (1857-1940), defied all expectations by enjoying the outdoors as a young girl, obtaining a science degree from a prestigious university (unheard of for a woman in 1881!), and resolutely turning a barren, desert park into a green and leafy oasis that remains a jewel of the City of San Diego to this day. McElmurry's painted, double-spread illustrations get the colors just right and project an "old-timey" feeling that kids will immediately recognize. Katherine Olivia Sessions' story, The T...