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| The Birch Bright Tree of Life and Legend by John L. Peyton author and illustrator 1994, 6x9", 74 pages 17 b&w figures Softcover $9.95 (0-939923-42-4) |
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This book is a celebration of one of the most widespread, beautiful, useful, and inspiring of trees – the birch, a group of species that occur across the middle and high latitudes of Europe, Asia, and North America. The author provides an overview of birch ecology and then shifts his focus to the economic, social and spiritual roles of the birch among peoples of North America, Europe, and Asia. The book concludes with a discussion of the birch in art and literature, and the ancient alliance between people and trees. The Birch is an accessible, friendly book containing 17 line drawings by the author-artist.
John Lawrence Peyton, originally from Proctor, Minnesota, was well-known throughout the western Great Lakes region as a banker, artist, and award-winning author.
Before his death, Peyton recalled:
"I was born on the hill above the studio where I live now [in Proctor, MN]. The forest was near in those days, and the network of lakes and rivers stretched from here into the Canadian wilderness. I learned to use paddle, paintbrush, and snowshoes before I was old enough to start grade school."
Although Peyton studied at Exeter Academy, Yale University, Yale Art School, and the Art Student’s League of New York, and then entered the family banking business in Minnesota, his heart never left the Northwoods wilderness – a love and respect that is embodied in his decades of painting and writing. His books include The Stone Canoe and other stories (1989) which won the Minnesota Book Award for Fiction in 1991 and the St. Louis County Historical Society’s Presidential Award for nonfiction in 1990, Voices from the Ice (1990) for children, Faces in the Firelight (1992), and his autobiography, Bright Beat the Water (1993).
REVIEWS
"Is your child studying Indians or folklore in school this year? This book
presents excellent information on a commonly used tree. Peyton brings
together stories of how people around the world (northern hemisphere) have
used birch trees. The bark has wrapped food, covered homes, and even
protected babies from the cold. It is well written and keeps your
interest.... This book will give you an opportunity to discuss man's
innate need to worship something larger than himself with your child.
(Diana Pederson, BellaOnline's Christian Literature Editor, January
2007)
"Subtitled Bright Tree of Life and Legend, this book details for the reader more natural history, more super-natural history, more quoted verse and prose, and more nicely executed black and white drawings about the tree commonly known as the paper birch than one could possibly believe interesting. Surprise, surprise, the book holds the reader’s interest, and causes this reviewer to wonder how Peyton knew that 73 pages are exactly enough to cover the subject." (The Roanoke Times & World News, October 2, 1994)
"Buy the book if you are keen on the birch or interested in tree mythology and North tribes, especially the Anishinaabeg (Northern Ojibway)." (Arboricultural Journal, November 1995)
Other Ojibway titles:
The Stone Canoe and Other Stories