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Christopher Cheng (Author) Christopher Cheng is an accomplished children?s author who writes fiction and non-fiction full time, conducts workshops and visits schools. He has a Master of Arts in Children?s Literature and has been a Literacy Ambassador for the Federal Government?s Literacy and Numeracy Week initiative and the 2012 National Year of Reading. His picture book, One Child, illustrated by Steven Woolman, won the Wilderness Society Environment Award for Picture Books (Australia) and the Skipping Stones Honour Book (USA). Christopher also worked with Sarah Davis on the critically acclaimed picture book Sounds Spooky which won an Aurealis Award in the picture book category and is a CBCA Notable Book.Bruce Whatley (Illustrator) Bruce Whatley trained as an illustrator in Manchester, UK, where one of his tutors was Tony Ross. Shortly after starting a family, Bruce found his niche in writing and illustrating for children. His children's books are very popular and his first book, The Ugliest Dog in the World, was an instant success and was listed as a CBCA Notable Book, 1993. His second book, Looking for Crabs, was shortlisted for Picture Book of the Year, 1993. Bruce continues to write and illustrate picture books. He has had much success with the picture book he has created with Jackie French, Diary of A Wombat, as well as books his own, Tin Toys and The Watchmaker Who Saved Christmas. Bruce and his wife live in Berry on the south coast of New South Wales.
'Grandfather used to live happily on a farm, nearest the tallest tree on a mountain. Now he lives with his family in a small apartment in a crowded city and he is silent and sad. When his grandson, the narrator, takes home a tiny tree he's rescued from a footpath, Grandfather is at first dismissive, but gradually becomes involved in helping his grandson tend to the tree. Christopher Cheng's Chinese heritage informs this book and it's a privilege for us to be included as readers. One Tree acknowledges the old ways while being realistic, but not negative, about modern life. It shows there are always possibilities for change and it emphasises how lucky we are to have elders in our lives--and how important it is to listen to them. Bruce Whatley's illustrations are wonderful. Whatley uses a new technique that has the appearance of linocut pictures, although it has been achieved digitally. Not only do the pictures extend the text, but they deepen it, and it's this technique that gives the story an extra layer of interest and meaning. We follow Grandfather's life, with its obvious changes, but we also see that renewal and regeneration are possible for both people and their environments. This is an outstanding, life-affirming book that will surely stand the test time. It is recommended for those aged five and up.' - Louise Pfanner, Books + Publishing 'This is a beautiful narrative of love, family, resilience and nature. One senses that there could be a very personal back story to this new book and Bruce Whatley's stunning illustrations capture perfectly the sense of Chinese culture in a linocut style. This is a splendid picture book which I would predict will be firmly and rightfully placed in award lists in the coming year. Highly recommended for young readers from around six years upwards' - Sue Warren, OZ-TL network of educators 'Whatley's detailed illustrations will remain with the reader as they close the last page and think about the boy and his family. . . This is a beautiful testimony to the place of older people within a family, the wisdom they can pass on, the changes they have seen and their evolving relationships with the younger generation. Cheng inhabits his story with an almost mythic quality; it is like reading a fable which readers will ponder long after the story has finished.' - ReadPlus
