In this adaptation of a Korean folk tale, a traveller witnesses an owner of a tree denying the local villagers refuge in its shade. The traveller convinces the greedy owner to sell him the tree’s shade, which he then shares with the villagers. Moving with the tree’s extending evening shadow, the traveller lands in the tree owner’s garden. His angry reaction was to abandon his home, leaving the traveller and villagers to forever enjoy the tree’s shade.

Minimalist in nature, details in the double-page spread illustrations stand out through the use of dark images set against a narrow spectrum of colour and generous amount of surrounding whitespace. An image spanning three pages is included mid-book as a gatefold. Short sections of text are set within the whitespace.

The first Korean recipient of the Hans Christian Anderson Award (illustration section), Korean-born author-illustrator Suzy Lee is renowned for her wordless picture books and associated nominations and awards.

Other End Matter: None
Images: Colour illustrations
Bibliography: No
Index: No

Evaluator: Jennifer W., Literacy Educator And Administrator, BC Books for Schools

2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award winning illustrator Suzy Lee is a critically acclaimed, award-winning Korean picture book artist and illustrator. Her books include Mirror, Wave, and Shadow, which are known collectively as "The Border Trilogy."

Suzy Lee's profile page

Helen Mixter is a writer and the translator of several children's books, including the Governor General's Award-winning Harvey.

Helen Mixter's profile page

“Purchase for all picture bookshelves."
—School Library Journal

“Captivating… a great choice for story sequencing and problem-resolution…would allow even pre-readers familiar with the story to follow along and re-tell it on their own."
—Children's Literature

“Children can learn much from this carefully constructed parable... The Shade Tree shows us that we can greatly enrich our lives by reaching out-and sharing.”
—Quill & Quire

“Certain to resonate with young readers."
—Publishers Weekly

“Delicate paintwork... Suzy Lee uses spare language and illustration to retell a traditional Korean folktale.”
—The Wall Street Journal

"Small but evocative artistic details continually reward re-readers… All the cleverer for its minimal depictions, this tale has maximal resonance as societies embrace collaborative solidarity and community care."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books review

"(A) thought-provoking volume about sharing, community and the undoing of selfishness."
—STARRED Youth Service Book Review

“The soothing cadence of the story paired with the simple but beautiful illustrations and amusing ending make for a calming and satisfying read, translated from Korean and reformatted for a North American audience. A gorgeous fable celebrating generosity and wit.”
—Kirkus, STARRED review