A NOTE FOR YOU BEFORE WE STEP INTO THE FOREST

I live in a forest in Germany, where I often tell stories to children about the animals and the trees.

Piet the squirrel is a real squirrel. Every day he scampers about in the tops of the trees growing around my forest lodge or in the meadow nearby. In winter, I put food out for him under an old pine tree, and in summer he plays with the other squirrels in the treetops.

The ancient beech trees with their children aren’t far away, either. Behind my lodge, there is a preserve where the beeches can grow undisturbed. In this protected spot, no one is allowed to cut down any trees and it is always beautifully shady and cool.

I needed a special story for this book and I immediately thought of Piet. In this story, Piet is curious about families, since he doesn’t have one of his own. He can’t believe that even trees have families. He asks me to show him, and so we set out on our search for the tree children.

Are you ready to make the journey with Piet to find the tree children? Yes? Then I will begin the story.

We are lucky that Cale has painted absolutely wonderful pictures so you can see all the places we’re going to visit. I hope you enjoy our adventure!

Read more here. . .