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A review of The Tin Forest

by Helen Ward (illustrated by Wayne Anderson)

This picture book reminds us that dreams can transform the ugliest place into one of absolute beauty.

Reviewed by: Heather Ray
About Heather Ray

The Tin Forest Life can sometimes be a big ol' pile of garbage. However, with a dream and hard work, it can become a paradise. That is the message behind The Tin Forest, a lovely picture book by Helen Ward, illustrated by Wayne Anderson. I bought this book before my son was even born, captivated by the nifty silver cover. The story inside made me thankful I had been so captivated.

The book tells the story of an old man who is apparently the caretaker of a humongous garbage heap. He lives in a tiny house in the middle of the heap, all alone except for his books and his dreams. He spends his daytime hours trying to clean up all of the garbage and his nighttime hours dreaming about tropical forests. One day, he gets the idea to create a forest from the junk with which he is surrounded. He builds trees and flowers, birds and frogs, even a striped mechanical kitty to keep him company. Then something magical happens--a real forest begins to grow.

Ward is one great storyteller. She has created a nice allegory about how the power of dreaming and hard work can change one's life...or even the world. Adults and older children will certainly appreciate that. The little ones will be mesmerized by the soothing prose--and by Anderson's illustrations.

I was taken in by the very first two pages: a wind- and rain-swept garbage heap surrounding a tiny house. The colors are muted grays and blacks, except for the house's windows. This is a continuing theme. At first, only the old man (who, by the way, seems the sort of old man whose lap would be a good place for story-telling), his fire, and his books are in color. Then comes a wonderful page illustrating his dreams. Technicolor flowers, bugs, and even a tiger seem to swoop off the page. The pictures are very detailed. Each nut and bolt of the mechanical forest is visible. Each twig in the real forest is perfectly etched.

My favorite (and my son's favorite) part of this book is watching as the real forest takes over the mechanical one. There are so many fun things to spot: how the mechanical cat is winking, how the mechanical lizard is playing with the live one. I could spend quite some time trying to catch all of the details Anderson has packed into each picture, and have, while my son snored and drooled on my arm.

If you are the sort of person who believes that anything is possible through dreams and hard work (and goodness knows, we need more like you), you will love this book and will want to share it with the children you know. It not only tells a good story, it might even inspire you to run out and transform the next garbage heap you see into paradise.

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: The Tin Forest

Copyright © by Heather Ray, 2002

Reviewed by Heather Ray :
-- The Blue Sword - by Robin McKinley
-- The Hero and the Crown - by Robin McKinley
-- Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening - by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
-- Little Women - by Louisa May Alcott
-- The Giving Tree - by Shel Silverstein
-- The Tin Forest - by Helen Ward, illustrated by Wayne Anderson
-- New Book of Herbs - by Jekka McVicar









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