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The Searcher and Old Tree
Product Code: 92230 ISBN: 978-1-58089-223-0 Ages: 3 - 6 Grade Highest: 1st Grade Lowest: Pre-K Availability: In stock. Price: $15.95 A cradle of safety
After a long night of foraging, a tired raccoons returns home to sleep in Old Tree's branches. Oblivious to the rain and wind of a raging storm, the raccoon is protected and sheltered by the tree. Beloved author-illustrator David McPhail crafts a simple, yet powerful, allegory about the safety of home and the strength of unconditional love.  If you like this book, you'll like: Reviews Kirkus Reviews - December 15, 2007
A little raccoon sleeps through a fierce storm in his favorite tree. The Searcher ferrets for food all night and at dawn heads back to his home in the branches of sturdy Old Tree where he comfortably settles for a day of deep sleep. While the Searcher sleeps, a coastal storm brews with blowing wind and lashing waves. As the storm builds, wind rips Old Tree's branches, bends his trunk and tries to pull out his roots. All day the storm rages, Old Tree holds fast and the Searcher sleeps on unaware. By evening, the storm retreats and the Searcher wakes up refreshed. As the Searcher climbs out of Old Tree to begin his evening forage, he's amazed to see Old Tree's broken branches and leaves lying in the wet grass. The atmospheric pen, ink and watercolor illustrations convey the storm's elemental intensity, Old Tree's gallant struggle to survive and the Searcher's total oblivion. Careful readers will discover Old Tree's anthropomorphic face protectively watching over the Searcher in this allegorical tribute to the importance of having a safe place.
Publishers Weekly - January 2, 2008
In characteristically accomplished pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations and a heavily metaphorical text, McPhail (Sylvie & True) relates a tale about feeling safe and protected, no matter what. Searcher, a raccoon, makes his home in Old Tree, whose trunk is distinguished by eyes, nose and mouth. Vignettes show Searcher scavenging for food at night, then ambling back to Old Tree at dawn, falling asleep just before a terrible storm wreaks its havoc: “The wind shrieks. The waves explode. Old Tree holds firm. The Searcher sleeps on.” McPhail’s art gradually expands to fill the entire spread to show the storm at its worst, then recedes back to vignettes as “the wind and waves relent” and the Searcher wakes up and goes forth for the evening, oblivious to the past day’s tempest until he notices the wetness of the grass and the presence of broken branches; when he turns back to look at his sanctuary, Old Tree “waves” to him comfortingly. Developmentally, this story seems a little off-base; kids might not want to identify with a protagonist who snoozes through the most exciting, if scary part of the story; and, ironically, they might find the while-you-were-sleeping problem-solving more disconcerting than reassuring.
 School Library Journal, starred review - February 1, 2008 Booklist - February 15, 2008
Searcher, a pudgy raccoon, spends his nights foraging for food and then returns, sated, to sleep in the safe and welcoming branches of Old Tree. One morning a fierce thunderstorm rolls in--with wind, rain, and waves that threaten to rip Old Tree from its seaside mooring. The tree holds fast, though, and Searcher slumbers undisturbed through the tempest. McPhail's signature pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations portray a blithe Searcher, who is truly puzzled by the storm debris he sees when he awakes. Young listeners will appreciate the contrast between the ferocious gale (depicted in purples, blacks, yellows, and blues) and Searcher's comfy perch in the tree, where he quietly repositions himself on each spread. This gentle tale is well suited to preschool story hours; children will note the tree's changing facial expressions as they listen to the words. The Bureau County Republican - August 14, 2008
At the beginning of "The Searcher and Old Tree," a single wordless raccoon asleep in a massive tree beside the ocean. Old Seracher awakens, climbs down and ransacks an enticing garbage can all across the title page and credits. By the time the story text begins, night is over and the well-fed raccoon is ready to go back to sleep. As Searcher snores in his tree, a storm brews and boils across the sea. Waves rise and curl; the wind tries to uproot the tree. Searcher sleeps through the storm, unaware of any danger. Dramatic ink-and-water-color illustrations convey the contrast between the fully rendered thunder storm and the peacefully sleeping raccoon. Do you see in the tree a face older than Searcher's? Text that on the page appears to be plain prose turns into poetry when read out loud. Preschoolers won't recognize interlaced alliteration or pick up the echoes of Old English epic format--but these devices still retain their poetic power. The language is simple yet memorable. "Searcher and the Old Tree" speaks to a child's need for safety and security. Younger children will see only the surface story, and that is enough, as they cuddle with a loving reader. Older children may personify the tree to represent someone in the child's own life who can be trusted always to be there, no matter what. For a spiritual person, the clear analogy is shelter in God's arms through the storms of life. A good bedtime story must have interest and excitement to capture a child's attention, yet also soothe and calm the child for a good night's sleep. [Searcher and the Old Tree] succeed[s] on both levels.
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