TREE OF DREAMS:Reader Activities

Best Users: Librarians, Educators, Book Clubs, Home Learning
Best Audience: Children Grades 04-08

 

ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES

Literary Chocolate Tasting
(Classroom Activity or Library Event)
Reading, writing, and STEM activities you can do while eating chocolate?? Why, yes. This guide invites your readers to:

— Develop multi-sensory observation skills essential for writing
— Practice making specific descriptions with precise vocabulary
— Use unique, figurative language (metaphors and similes)
— Learn about neurological effects of chocolate (STEM!)
— Use chocolate as inspiration for creative writing
DOWNLOAD Tree of Dreams: Literary Chocolate Tasting (PDF)

Chocolatey Book Club
(School, Library, or Parent Groups)
The novel’s blend of chocolate, relationships, and personal growth with rainforest and Indigenous awareness and activism makes for a rich Book Club read. This guide blends all those delicious themes together with ideas for:

— Making hot chocolate
— Holding a chocolate tasting
— Discussing the book
— Bonding with a tree
— Watching videos on the Amazon rainforest
— Creating thematic crafts
— Planning a chocolate shop or factory tour
DOWNLOAD Tree of Dreams: Chocolatey Book Club (PDF)

Educator Guide
With these classroom activities you students can explore:

— Evidence that the Amazon environment and cultures are endangered
— STEM topics from neurological effects of chocolate to rainforest ecology to the fermentation process
— Reading the novel with intention and attention to literary forms
— Writing reflections and a chapter of the sequel
DOWNLOAD Tree of Dreams: Educator Guide (PDF)

Taking Action
(Service Learning for All Settings)
In the novel, the main character’s heart grows beyond her personal tribulations to a point where she can see her role in protecting the global community and environment. If your readers are inspired to do the same, this guide offer ideas to:
— Plant trees
— Take a stand for the Huaorani (Waorani) people and their land
— Write letters to protect the Ecuadorian Amazon
DOWNLOAD Tree of Dreams: Taking Action (PDF)

Explore More
Author Laura Resau provides additional cultural and literacy materials of her page. There you can explore:
– Indigenous and Environmental issues
– Laura’s research trip to the Amazon
– Bean-to-Bar factory tour
EXPLORE More Tree of Dreams Resources

These activities were created by Anthropologist, former ESL educator, and author Laura Resau after a wee consultation about literacy and social action engagement with Curious City.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Tree of Dreams
By Laura Resau
Published by Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN-13: 9780545800884
Age Range: 9 – 12 Years

Dear Coco and Leo,
I miss you! We all miss you! The whole forest misses you! I hear their thanks and wishes in my dreams. I hope you do, too.

Prepare for a journey into a world filled with what so many crave — the sweet savoring of a chocolate drop. A drop that can melt even the most troubled realities. But in this nuanced, heartrending story, before good can emerge, there is destruction, the bombarding of a people, their culture, heritage, sacred beliefs, and the very soul that drives their traditions.

This urgent, beautiful novel takes readers into the ugly realities that surround the destruction of the Amazon rain forest and its people. Acclaimed author Laura Resau shows us that love is more powerful than hatred, and that by working together, hope can be magically restored, root and branch.

 

 

“This compelling novel is a lovely blend of magical realism and harsh, realistic reminders of environmental and cultural threats to the Amazon and the people who call it home. It presents an opportunity for discussions of activism, deforestation, and what one can do to protect this vital region for the health of our planet. VERDICT An enchanting novel that raises valuable real-life questions while reminding readers to recognize the magic that connects all life.”
—School Library Journal
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“When Coco (who’s white but fluent in Spanish) and Leo (who’s of Mexican descent), along with their moms and elderly Spanish friend Gali travel to Ecuador’s rainforest, they stay in a remote Huaorani village, befriend Isa and her family, and discover that the community as well as the ceiba trees are endangered by greedy logging and oil-drilling enterprises. Resau once again blends the magical (the ceiba tree also narrates chapters throughout the story) with the contemporary in this well-researched and beautifully told tale that encourages readers to advocate for Indigenous and environmental causes. A moving exploration of friendship, activism, and how chocolate makes everything better.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review