Overview

Explore an oak tree, from its leafy crown to its roots underground, and learn all the amazing ways it supports the animals, plants, and habitat where it lives in this surprising and enlightening nonfiction picture book companion to the award-winning Fungi Grow. An oak tree is so much more than meets the eye. From tiny fungi to mighty mammals, this amazing tree contains a whole world. For insects and birds, the oak’s leaves, branches, and bark are a home. For bears and squirrels, the thousands of acorns the oak produces are a nutritious superfood. Owls, deer, foxes, and many more creatures are drawn to the rich and healthy environment an oak creates. Because of a single oak tree, its many neighbors flourish.

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9781665961042

Table of Contents

Reviews

*Gianferrari and Sudyka explore the many life forms and natural processes—both visible and invisible to the naked eye—that a single oak tree “nurtures and nourishes.” From feeding and sheltering wildlife above- and belowground to producing oxygen and preventing soil erosion, and beyond, the oak touches everything around it, forming a micro-ecosystem of its own. Gianferrari’s text, with its frequent alliteration, occasional rhyme, and refrain of “just one oak,” constitutes an ode to the “beautiful and bountiful” tree’s life-giving power. Sudyka’s vibrant, painterly illustrations enrich the reading experience, zooming in and out as necessary to put a spotlight on different aspects of the oak-ecosystem. -- Horn Book Starred * March / April 2026 * A joyous tribute to the many roles one living tree can take—from creating a microclimate to feeding and housing a wide variety of wild creatures. In a mix of lyrical general statements and expansive notes in smaller type, Gianferrari describes how oaks offer a “dining room” for more types of moths and butterflies than any other native tree genus and a winter granary for woodpeckers, which drill holes where they stash acorns. . . . In her painted illustrations, Sudyka envisions a mature tree teeming with wildlife, from googly-eyed bugs to birds and bears—nearly all identified with discreet labels—as well as associated flora, fungi, and, in a final scene, a racially diverse set of young tree lovers. . . . Offers plenty of cause to root for this keystone species. -- Kirkus * February 1, 2026 *

A joyous tribute to the many roles one living tree can take--from creating a microclimate to feeding and housing a wide variety of wild creatures. In a mix of lyrical general statements and expansive notes in smaller type, Gianferrari describes how oaks offer a ""dining room"" for more types of moths and butterflies than any other native tree genus and a winter granary for woodpeckers, which drill holes where they stash acorns. . . . In her painted illustrations, Sudyka envisions a mature tree teeming with wildlife, from googly-eyed bugs to birds and bears--nearly all identified with discreet labels--as well as associated flora, fungi, and, in a final scene, a racially diverse set of young tree lovers. . . . Offers plenty of cause to root for this keystone species.--Kirkus ""February 1, 2026""

Author Information

Maria Gianferrari is a picture book reader/writer, tea-drinker, dog-lover, and birdwatcher. Maria writes books that honor our bonds with creatures both domestic and wild and that celebrate the natural world around us, including Fungi Grow and Just One Oak, illustrated by Diana Sudyka; Ice Cycle: Poems about the Life of Ice, illustrated by Jieting Chen; Being a Dog: A Tail of Mindfulness, illustrated by Pete Oswald; Bobcat Prowling, illustrated by Bagram Ibatouilline; and Be a Tree!, illustrated by Felicita Sala. She lives with her family in Massachusetts in a house encircled by trees. To learn more about Maria, visit her website: MariaGianferrari.com. Diana Sudyka is a Chicago-based illustrator. Early on, she created screen-printed gig posters for musicians but currently her illustration work focuses on young adult, middle grade, and children’s books. She has illustrated several volumes of the award-winning book series The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart and Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley, as well as the picture books Would You Come Too? by Liz Garton Scanlon, Sometimes Rain by Meg Fleming, What Miss Mitchell Saw by Hayley Barrett, How to Find a Bird by Jennifer Ward, and Fungi Grow and Just One Oak by Maria Gianferrari. Visit her at DianaSudyka.com.

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