Regarding the Trees [Paperback]

Mr. Russ, the principal of Geyser Creek Middle School, is scheduled for an evaluation, which sets his nerves on edge. Hoping for a positive review so he can keep his job, Mr. Russ decides that the trees scattered across the school grounds desperately need a trimming to look their best. So he calls on Ms. Florence Waters, the multi-talented woman who recently had installed a new fountain for the school. Even though she lives all the way over in California, she feels delighted to help out her old friends again. While they work out the details of the job, a slight misunderstanding leads Ms. Waters to believe that Mr. Russ is proposing marriage, when in fact that's the last thing on his mind!

Meanwhile, the new middle school's Italian chef is causing quite a stir in town as well. He and the town's café owner, Angel Fisch, are bashing heads on who is the better cook. Their feud soon spreads to include the entire town, dividing the population down the gender line, boys versus girls. Ms. Fisch suggests the obvious solution of a cooking contest, and everyone agrees --- but then someone steals the favorite recipe from both! Who is the culprit?

Meanwhile, some of the students are very upset with Mr. Russ deciding not only to prune the giant willow on the school grounds, but also to remove it entirely. Minnie O. starts up a protest to save all the trees. During her campaign, she learns about an old Geyser Creek club who called themselves The Maids of May, dedicated to saving and planting trees all over the world. Through The Maids of May meeting minutes, Minnie O. discovers some very interesting facts about Geyser Creek and her inhabitants.

REGARDING THE TREES is an ingenious story filled with hilarious puns and misunderstandings. The entire book is a collection of newspaper articles, letters, phone messages, faxes, meeting minutes, and a video transcript. Also sprinkled in are tiny Italian lessons and helpful hints on how to plant trees, and how to explore and construct a family tree. The author and illustrator, Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise, have done an awesome job with this unusual series, and fans can look forward to REGARDING THE BATHROOMS: A Privy to the Past.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author

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Though I am well above the 9-12 age group written on the back, I still very much enjoyed this book. Walter Russ, Principal of Geyser Creek Middle School, has a problem. The society of principals are coming to his school to evaluate EVERYTHING! Including the trees. The trees are a wreck and are in dire need of trimming. Florence Waters, president of Flowing Waters inc. and intimate friend of everyone at the Middle School, is asked for a proposal. She mistakes it as a wedding proposal. The plot winds off in many directions at once from boys vs. girls to unexpected marraiges to the tree trimming. Somehow, though, you manage to keep everything straight while reading. One event which spurs the change of relationships between many people is the competition between the towns two restaruant owners - Chef Angelo and Angel Fisch. There will be a cookoff to see who is the better chef. The girls of the town form their own society and support Angel while the boys support Angelo. This gives the book a thicker plot and a flair. I highly reccomend this fun read. I gaurentee you'll smile!

First: four stars only because I have not read this myself. I have, however, read "Regarding the Fountain" and "Regarding the Bathrooms." I have given my 7-year-old granddaughter four books from this series, including this one. She is in the second grade but reads at a much higher level, at least in terms of vocabulary and grammar. For content, she is, of course, still 7. These books are great fun: many steps beyond chapter books, but not dealing with subjects that are too burdensome for a child. They are filled with puns that are amusing for any elementary-school child. The swirling imaginative element first introduced by Flo Waters (yes, I know) and spreading to the rest of the characters in a mundane Missouri town is especially enchanting. She enters the life of a middle school, and you can watch the kids blossom. I recommend starting with the first book, "Regarding the Fountain." These schoolchildren are an antidote to the whiny brats found in too many current books for children.