The Tree by Dana Lyons

"Trees are great teachers of unconditional giving." -from the forward

     This book is truly majestic- a book that every child should own. The artwork is stunning and the story reads like an ancient song-like the song that inspired the author to write the book. Dana Lyons was spending a weekend in the Olympic Rain Forest playing his guitar under an ancient Douglas fir tree when a complete song flowed out of his spirit. After playing the song, he looked up at the tree and said, "this must be your song!" Soon thereafter, at a Native American celebration-he played the song for the tribal chief. The chief listened intently and then declared that the song did come from the tree-he recognized the tune. The chief went on to say that "it is known in our tradition that each tree has it's own song. Our music comes from them. We show our respect for the great trees by singing their songs and playing them on the flute." 

   This book is a call to the hearts of every human being to return to the place of our origin- to return to the garden and our role as stewards of the earths many treasures, especially the trees- those ancient signposts- givers of the breath of life.