Tree Day
A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Arboreal Lives
Published on 10. September 2025
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-226-83396-5 (ISBN)
Description
An hourly guide that spotlights twenty-four trees as they root, flower, and host diverse forest life.
In this short book, treetop explorer Meg Lowman guides us through a global forest. Each chapter of Tree Day introduces a single tree during a single hour, highlighting twenty-four species from around the world.
In the dark of Yemen's night, it is too early to see the red sap from which the dragon's blood tree gets its name. But if we watch closely, we will see nocturnal geckos carry the trees' pollen in their snouts. Later, in the Pacific Northwest, we climb the world's tallest species, the coastal redwood. The morning fog is a reminder that redwoods absorb water through their roots and canopies, helping them survive such heights. The sun is already low in the sky on an autumn afternoon. Given the darkness of this New England forest, the sugar maple's leaves have stopped producing chlorophyll that converts light into energy-and green gives way to vivid crimson foliage. After many hours of boiling, the maple sap makes delicious maple syrup. As the sun sets in Mexico, we observe the origin of another treat, chocolate. The cocoa tree's flowers sprout along its trunk and branches, allowing easy access for tiny insects like midges that pollinate the tree and start the process of making delicious food for humans, monkeys, bats, and squirrels. By the end of our tree day, we will understand that trees are the silent caretakers of our planet, providing us with medicines, foods, machinery for making fresh water and oxygen, and more.
For each hour, celebrated artist Thibaud Herem has depicted these trees with gorgeous pen and ink illustrations. Working together to narrate and illustrate these unique moments in time, Lowman and Herem have created an engaging read that is a perfect way to spend an hour or two-and a true gift for anyone who has ever looked up at a tree in wonder.
In this short book, treetop explorer Meg Lowman guides us through a global forest. Each chapter of Tree Day introduces a single tree during a single hour, highlighting twenty-four species from around the world.
In the dark of Yemen's night, it is too early to see the red sap from which the dragon's blood tree gets its name. But if we watch closely, we will see nocturnal geckos carry the trees' pollen in their snouts. Later, in the Pacific Northwest, we climb the world's tallest species, the coastal redwood. The morning fog is a reminder that redwoods absorb water through their roots and canopies, helping them survive such heights. The sun is already low in the sky on an autumn afternoon. Given the darkness of this New England forest, the sugar maple's leaves have stopped producing chlorophyll that converts light into energy-and green gives way to vivid crimson foliage. After many hours of boiling, the maple sap makes delicious maple syrup. As the sun sets in Mexico, we observe the origin of another treat, chocolate. The cocoa tree's flowers sprout along its trunk and branches, allowing easy access for tiny insects like midges that pollinate the tree and start the process of making delicious food for humans, monkeys, bats, and squirrels. By the end of our tree day, we will understand that trees are the silent caretakers of our planet, providing us with medicines, foods, machinery for making fresh water and oxygen, and more.
For each hour, celebrated artist Thibaud Herem has depicted these trees with gorgeous pen and ink illustrations. Working together to narrate and illustrate these unique moments in time, Lowman and Herem have created an engaging read that is a perfect way to spend an hour or two-and a true gift for anyone who has ever looked up at a tree in wonder.
Reviews / Votes
"I highly recommend Tree Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Arboreal Lives. It is not just a book filled with scientific facts. It is also a book written in Meg Lowman's engaging story telling style, which reveals her love (which I share) of trees as living beings. It will help all who read it understand the important role trees play in our lives and the life of our planet. Congratulations, CanopyMeg." * Jane Goodall * "Tree Day is an adventurous story of trees and their importance for everyone's health and well-being! It's a must-read for all ages." * Tommy Hilfiger * "'CanopyMeg' Lowman is rightly famous for introducing thousands of people to the forest from high in the branches. Now she reveals trees through the hours of the day. With illustrations by Thibaud Herem, this fine book should belong to anyone who loves nature-as well as those who don't yet." * Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods" and "The Nature Principle" * "Lowman's Tree Day is a beautiful book in every sense. She chooses twenty-four of the world's most interesting trees and describes each with loving intimacy and wonder. Lowman is a climber who has ascended many of these trees using special equipment, so she knows them in a way almost no humans do. The illustrations by Thibaud Herem perfectly illuminate the text. Tree Day is a lovely book to hold in one's hands and read." * Richard Preston, author of "The Wild Trees" and "The Hot Zone" * "If a tree was once understood as a mostly static living object, here we see it rippling with change." -- Praise for Lowman's "The Arbornaut" * Rebecca Giggs, The Atlantic * "An extraordinary life, one spent among trees." -- Praise for Lowman's "The Arbornaut" * Sophie Cunningham, The Guardian * "Most charming of all is Lowman's joy and wonder at the natural world. . . . By the time you reach the last page of this book, you'll either want to climb a tree, hug a tree, or both." -- Praise for Lowman's "The Arbornaut" * Rachel Zarrow, San Francisco Chronicle * "Solid science combined with a pleasing writing style make for a winning book." -- Praise for Lowman's "The Arbornaut" * Kirkus (starred review) * "Lowman shines in her ability to combine accessible science with exciting personal anecdotes that effectively convey the 'thrill of aerial exploration' and bolster her case that trees-and sustainable ecosystems-are worth studying, protecting, and preserving. Nature lovers will find much to consider." -- Praise for Lowman's "The Arbornaut" * Publishers Weekly *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
48 halftones
Dimensions
Height: 127 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
345 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-83396-5 (9780226833965)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Meg Lowman (also known as CanopyMeg) is a treetop explorer and forest conservationist. She is one of the world's first arbornauts and has climbed trees in over forty countries. Lowman is the executive director of the TREE Foundation and the founder of Mission Green, a project to build canopy walkways in the world's ten most endangered, high-biodiversity forests. Lowman has authored eleven books, including The Arbornaut and Life in the Treetops. Thibaud Herem is a French illustrator specializing in drawings with incredible hand-drawn detail. He has authored or illustrated several books, including Raising a Forest and The Story of Trees.
Content
Preface
Artist's Note
A Few Notes on Structure and Scope
Midnight Fig (Worldwide)
1 AM Hairy Birch (Europe and Northern Asia)
2 AM Coachwood (Australia)
3 AM Dragon's Blood Tree (Yemen)
4 AM American Beech (North America)
5 AM Great Kapok (Central America, South America, West Africa)
6 AM Vedippala (India)
7 AM Red Mangrove (Central America, North America, West Africa)
8 AM Antarctic Beech (Australia)
9 AM Red Stinkwood (Africa)
10 AM Coastal Redwood (North America)
11 AM Giant Stinging Tree (Australia)
Noon New England Peppermint (Australia)
1 PM Cecropia (Central and South America)
2 PM Sugar Maple (North America)
3 PM Ribbon Gum (Australia, Introduced Elsewhere)
4 PM American Elm (North America)
5 PM Durian (Southeast Asia)
6 PM Cocoa Tree (Central and South America)
7 PM Ginkgo (East Asia, Introduced Elsewhere)
8 PM Red Meranti (Southeast Asia)
9 PM African Baobab (Africa, Introduced Elsewhere)
10 PM Cabbage Palm (North America)
11 PM Tornillo (South America)
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Further Reading
Index
Artist's Note
A Few Notes on Structure and Scope
Midnight Fig (Worldwide)
1 AM Hairy Birch (Europe and Northern Asia)
2 AM Coachwood (Australia)
3 AM Dragon's Blood Tree (Yemen)
4 AM American Beech (North America)
5 AM Great Kapok (Central America, South America, West Africa)
6 AM Vedippala (India)
7 AM Red Mangrove (Central America, North America, West Africa)
8 AM Antarctic Beech (Australia)
9 AM Red Stinkwood (Africa)
10 AM Coastal Redwood (North America)
11 AM Giant Stinging Tree (Australia)
Noon New England Peppermint (Australia)
1 PM Cecropia (Central and South America)
2 PM Sugar Maple (North America)
3 PM Ribbon Gum (Australia, Introduced Elsewhere)
4 PM American Elm (North America)
5 PM Durian (Southeast Asia)
6 PM Cocoa Tree (Central and South America)
7 PM Ginkgo (East Asia, Introduced Elsewhere)
8 PM Red Meranti (Southeast Asia)
9 PM African Baobab (Africa, Introduced Elsewhere)
10 PM Cabbage Palm (North America)
11 PM Tornillo (South America)
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Further Reading
Index