About This Book

Author/illustrator of a long list of stories for children, including four Caldecott Honor Books, Leo Lionni tells a genial tale of mouse twins who befriend a talking tree. One winter, the two mice, Willie and Winnie, come upon a snow mouse they believe is holding a broom. Surprisingly, the "broom" talks to them and tells them it is actually a tree, whose name is Woody. As Willie and Winnie's friendship with Woody unfolds, Woody teaches them about the real-life changes trees undergo throughout the seasons.

An entertaining story, A Busy Year is also an informative book about nature. Lionni's characteristic collage pictures work well to illustrate how leaves grow and fall, buds swell and bloom, and fruit ripens during the life cycle of a tree.

About the Authors or Illustrators

Leo Lionni

Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated more than 40 highly acclaimed children's books. He received the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was a four-time Caldecott Honor Winner for Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Leo Lionni died in October of 1999 at his home in Tuscany, Italy, at the age of 89.

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