“This is the next generation of The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein, which was radical in showing how important trees are in our world … TIMELY AND NECESSARY.”
— Rayya Liebich · Poet
Advance praise and coverage
Reviews & Media
Early endorsements, a Cabin Radio article, and an audio excerpt with Jamie Bastedo offer a first glimpse of the book’s reception.
Advance praise
What early readers are saying
The following are excerpts from advance endorsements printed in the book, not independent published reviews.
“Each image casts a spell that bends temporal reality...There is such reward in taking the time to gaze into them to discover all that feels secret.”
— Allison Girvan · Singer, Educator, Nelson Cultural Ambassador
“What A BEAUTIFUL VISION and so skillfully manifested!... Marvellous to intimately witness the growth of one tree, and the changes around it, over a millennium.”
— Stuart McKinnon · Musician and teacher
“I found the story both CLEVER AND PROFOUND and, I admit, I even teared up a couple of times.”
— Hayden Trenholm · Playwright and author
“[Bastedo’s] poems are wonderfully simple and echo the great masters of the Haiku form … Very MOVING AND MESMERIZING. Gave me goosebumps. Beautiful!”
— Ross Breithaupt · Author
“The story’s felt sense of time is part of the beauty of this work, and REMINDS READERS OF THEIR OWN PLANETARY CONNECTIONS … A very marketable read!”
— Sonnet L’Abbé · Poet
“Powerful and creative. Skillfully evokes a profound empathy and concern for old-growth trees...”
— John Theberge · Biologist and author
Cabin Radio · September 2026
A tree’s life, told through poetry and art
Cabin Radio featured Jamie Bastedo and Ode to a Mother Tree in its September 2026 coverage, discussing the book’s haiku, illustrations, forest ecology, and the relationship between people and trees.
Read the Cabin Radio article ↗