One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree by Daniel Bernstrom

And though his name evokes strong feelings in every possible direction, it was Rudyard Kipling I thought of as I read this tale. As I read the book the language of the reading triggered something in my brain. Bernstrom is the first person to find the word “eucalyptus” so exceedingly delicious to both tongue and ear, but he certainly seems to have been the most prominent in recent memory. A sly illustration at the end suggests that history may repeat itself soon. A final meal proves too much for the voracious viper and next thing you know boy, toy, and a host of other animals are upchucked back into the world from whence they came. From birds and worms, to mossy sloths, to a single apple bearing a tiny fly, the creatures slide down the snake’s rapidly expanding throat. Commenting on the sheer amount of room and space in the belly, the boy cajoles the snake into eating more and more and more. But rather than bemoan his fate, the boy gets to work in his new role as the snake’s inner id. Add in the art of Brendan Wenzel, and how well it reads across a room, and you’ve got yourself the makings of what might possibly be the best readaloud picture book of the year.Ī boy and his whirly-twirly toy are just the first things to disappear down the gullet of a hungry yellow snake.

The book’s lilting rhymes, when practiced beforehand, have the potential to render an audience entranced. But the nice thing about Bernstrom’s book One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree is that it doesn’t need to rely on those extra features to enrapture an audience. It takes a certain magical combination of art and text to render a story readaloud-perfect. While every picture book (even the wordless ones) can be read aloud to a large group of children, only a select few thrive in that environment. Like any children’s librarian, I like to assess each picture book that crosses by my eyeballs for readaloud potential.

One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree by Daniel Bernstrom