By Piers Torday (author) , Matthew Taylor Wilson (illustrator)
"This stirring celebration of the natural world is also an inspiring ode to bravery, resilience and never giving up."
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Hardback In Stock £14.99 £13.49
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February 2026 Book of the Month
Inspired by the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree, and magnificently illustrated by Matthew Taylor Wilson, Piers Torday’s Tree Thing explores cycles of life, destruction, death and renewal through a hauntingly poignant story.
Written in the lucid, lyrical style of a timeless fable, Tree Thing transcends age boundaries, with an irresistibly classic feel from its striking opening line: “This is how the story begins. How the story always begins. Once, in a faraway land, a green thing grew out of the earth”.
Neither tree nor human, this green thing is Tree Thing, an extraordinary solitary being that soon finds itself in the company of other lifeforms. But when the winds whip colder and snow blows in, the shadowy Rider arrives, bringing destruction in his wake. A solitary glowing acorn ensures Tree Thing’s survival when a jay drops it in Marlo’s barren valley.
After Marlo plants the acorn, it’s quick to flourish into a magnificent thing — as Marlo nurtures Tree Thing, Tree Thing nourishes him in turn, and he’s filled with joy and hope as leaves and flowers produce more acorns: “Marlo looked up in wonder – each one could grow a new Tree Thing!
They could plant Tree Things everywhere”. But the Rider has other ideas, which means Marlo must muster incredible courage and determination.
A sense of menace rises quite brilliantly through the interplay of spellbinding words and illustrations that swell, shrink and bloom in tune with shifts in nature. Elegant, elegiac and shot-through with natural energy, this special book is set to stand the test of time, much like Tree Thing itself.
Gorgeously illustrated and with a classic feel, this story celebrates bravery, hope and the marvels of the natural world. When the dark rider on a horse arrives, Marlo's bravery is the only thing standing between Tree Thing and certain destruction ... An unmissable tale from award-winning Piers Torday.Once, in a faraway land, a green thing squeezed out of the earth. The mysterious Tree Thing, which changes Marlo's life forever.
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Gorgeously illustrated and with a classic feel, this story celebrates bravery, hope and the marvels of the natural world. When the dark rider on a horse arrives, Marlo's bravery is the only thing standing between Tree Thing and certain destruction ... An unmissable tale from award-winning Piers Torday. Once, in a faraway land, a green thing squeezed out of the earth. The mysterious Tree Thing, which changes Marlo's life forever.
Nothing grows in Marlo's valley, and it's a struggle to survive. But when his squirrel Rinti finds a glowing emerald acorn, it grows into a miraculous Tree Thing. Tree Thing changes everything, bringing life and hope. And when the shadowy Rider arrives with an axe, Marlo needs all his bravery and ingenuity to stand between triumph and disaster. From the acclaimed, award-winning Piers Torday comes an unforgettable fable for all ages, a brilliantly illustrated story for young and old.
Praise for Piers Torday:
‘One of the best writers for children working today’ - The Guardian
‘An unrelenting imagination’ The Times
‘A master storyteller’ - The New Statesman
Piers Torday began his career in theatre and then television as a producer and writer. His bestselling first book for children, The Last Wild , was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Award and nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal as well as numerous other awards. His second book, The Dark Wild , won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. The third book in the trilogy, The Wild Beyond , was published in 2015 to critical acclaim. His next book for children, There May Be a Castle , was published in October 2016.
In regular demand as a speaker at schools and festivals, Piers is also a reading helper with Beanstalk, a former judge on the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a Patron of Reading at Heathmere School and a trustee of the Pleasance Theatre.
Born in Northumberland, Piers now lives in London with his husband and hopefully a cat.
Piers Torday writes...
I was born in Northumberland, which is possibly the one part of England where more animals live than people, and spent my early years crawling around on the floor of the popular children’s bookshop that my mother ran.
The first book I can remember reading is Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. “Stop thief!”
I was a total bookworm and read everything I could lay my hands on, from Beatrix Potter to Babar, Moomintrolls to Hobbits. Some of my favourite books included Stig Of The Dump, The Land of Green Ginger and The Silver Sword.
I also loved comic books, especially all of Tintin and Asterix. So I tried to write one.
When I was 8, I won a cartoon competition in the local paper with my entry “Super Sid”, a comic strip about a superhero called Sid. Unfortunately his main super power was being called Sid, and so he didn’t last long.
My first proper story was written age 13, which starts – ‘Sam was a dog. And like most dogs, he was a detective.’
This should have led to a promising career in canine detective fiction but at school and university I became completely distracted by theatre & comedy, which is where I then started my working life - at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, producing plays and sketch shows, and occasionally writing them too.
I am very proud to still be a Trustee of the Pleasance Theatre, which gave me my first ever job, and every year gives hundreds of new writers, performers, producers and technicians their first break.
After that, I accidentally came up with a successful gameshow called Come and Have A Go If You Think You’re Smart Enough and moved into television. I still work in TV, developing programme ideas and occasionally being allowed to make them – including Argumental and DSF: Olivia Lee (Series 1 &2).
But deep down the thing I most wanted to do was write stories like the ones I grew up on, and after my Dad wrote his first book at the age of 60 - Salmon Fishing In The Yemen - I felt inspired. So I went on a marvellous Arvon Course at Ted Hughes’ old house in West Yorkshire. They were very encouraging – and I began to write a book.
That book eventually became The Last Wild, and I am currently writing the next installment in the story.
In between, I have just been trained as a Volunteer Reader by VRH and can’t wait to start helping children in my local London schools to enjoy books and stories like I did when I was younger.
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Gorgeously illustrated and with a classic feel, this story celebrates bravery, hope and the marvels of the natural world. When the dark rider on a horse arrives, Marlo's bravery is the only thing standing between Tree Thing and certain destruction ...
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Tree Thing and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
Tree Thing features in the following genres: Featured Books for 9+ readers, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Recommendations, Star Books, Fantasy / Magical, Animal Stories, The Natural World, Ecological and Environmental Interest - Non Fiction, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children’s / Teenage fiction: Magical realism / Magical fantasy, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Plants and trees, Children’s / Teenage: Social issues / topics, Children’s / Teenage: General interest
Paperback, Hardback. £13.49, down from the £14.99 cover price. In Stock.
Tree Thing was written by Piers Torday and published by Quercus Children's Books an imprint of Hachette Children's Group
Tree Thing has 174 pages
£13.49, reduced from £14.99. In Stock.
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