The Tin Forest

I bought this for my daughter as it's one of the books on her year 3 reading list. It's one of those picture books that can equally be enjoyed by children and adults alike. It tells the story of an old man who lives in a junkyard but dreams of a beautiful forest and how he tries to make his dream come true. My daughter likes it because of the detail in the illustrations and that she is constantly finding different things in them. I like it as a story to share with her because there is so much to talk about - the nature of how dreams can give us something to aspire to and hope for, how dreams can change, how if you want something badly enough it can take a lot of hard work and things not going exactly to plan before you see any results and being aware of opportunities when they arrive. Overall - we loved it.

Great illustrations Fab story Loved it used to inspire art and writing

Gorgeous pictures and a beautifully written, inspiring story with a hint of eco-warrior. Great for children between picture books and chapter books. As the text is so well crafted, it is a perfect stimulus for writing.

Originally published in 2001, this is the paperback edition, from 2003. The current stock images above give an idea of the content including the use of colour in the seemingly simple-at-first-glance illustrations, by Wayne Andersen. With that ‘the more you look; the more you see’ element, said artwork split the pack here, but most liked it after taking time to explore (and compare). It grows on you, so to speak! From the back cover (image below refers): ~ ‘There was once a wide, windswept place… but where there is a dream, hope can grow.’ ooOoo Larger than average, measuring around 28.75 cm x 24.75 cm, the card cover opens to 32 shiny finish pages, the story running across 28 over double-page spreads. The grey coloured text is a good size throughout, although I am not keen on the font (the lower case ‘a’ and ‘g’, in particular). Having said that, it doesn’t seem to trouble anyone else! The good use of vocabulary has inspired stories of our own, along with some interesting drawings. ~ ‘...Time passed. Soon the song of birds mingled with the buzzing of insects and the rustle of leaves. Small creatures appeared, creeping amongst the jungle of trees. Wild animals slipped through the green shadows...'

My daughter has been on at me for ages to get her this book. I took her to every book shop in town and no one had it, but Amazon to the rescue, i now have one happy 6-year-old. Great book with Amazon's typical lightning delivery.

A wonderful story about the triumph of nature over manmade desolation. A man lives on a rubbish dump and misses seeing the natural world. So he creates a tin forest, which is gradually populated and brought alive by living creatures and plants. My four year old loves this book read to him over and over. His favourite thing is comparing the pictures of the tin forest with the real forest, with every tin animal having its natural counterpart. My favourite thing is the powerful message of renewal, creation and hope.

This book is amazing because it shows that dreams do come true and it is calming to read it also makes your thoughts working to figure out whats gonna happen next

As a storyteller asked to do stories on an ECO theme, this book is a real treasure. The whole idea of the book is magical and the illustrations wonderful. This month I'm storytelling to an after school club and they'll be creating puppets and then writing their own ECO stories inspired by this wonderful book. It is a must for anyone wanting to explore issues to do with climate change and the value of re-cycling and re-using.

One of my favourite books and that of my grandson. Environmentally motivated yet captivating. Interesting illustrative technique and story line. Very happy with the purchase.

The book is really nice and have a lovely message

I used this book for my middle-grade Sunday School class when we talked about our God-given ability and responsibility to create beauty. It's a creative and dramatic illustration of the "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" theme. In spite of its use for a Christian Sunday school (our curriculum guide recommended it), it is not a "religious" book; there are no Christian, nor any other religious, terms, and I think the book would be suitable for children, or even adults, of any religion or culture. Besides the theme of creating beauty from ugliness, I think it would work with a discussion of environmental issues. I've added this to my collection of "Beautiful Books for Grandchildren."

Este libro es una maravilla. Regálatelo o a tus hijos. De qué va? Pues ahora que está tanto de moda (por desgracia) que estamos rodeados de plástico, y de * *@##, éste libro te reconcilia con la humanidad (no es libro de autoayuda, ni de cómo enfrentarse a sentimientos...). Es chulo. Dibujo chulo. Mensaje chulo. Edición normalita (podría haber sido de pasta dura). Está en inglés pero el texto es sencillo y acompaña muy bien a las preciosas ilustraciones. Espero que haya sido útil mi valoración.

Una storia piena di amore e cura che sboccia in un finale colorato.