Celebritrees: Historic & Famous Trees of the World

by Margi Preus, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

Henry Holt, 2011. Unpaged. Nonfiction.

Everyone knows famous people, but who knew there were famous plants? Trees, to be exact. The oldest known single living organism on earth is "Methuselah," a 4,800 year old bristlecone pine located in the Inyo National Forest in California. The Chapel Oak in France has two chapels built into it. The Dueling Oaks in Louisiana were the preferred site for gentlemen to shoot it out if they had been offended in the slightest possible way (one duel was over an insult to the Mississippi River). Margi Preus and Rebecca Gibbons' unusual take on unique foliage is great fun and highly informative. Who knew? Kids' should enjoy this tour of the world's most famous trees, and perhaps find a greater respect for those very large plants that give us shade, shelter, and beauty.

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