Uplifting without ever losing the fresh bite of its smart, funny protagonist, Mikki and Me and the Out-of-Tune Tree turns a disaster of a summer holiday into a gentle roadmap of how young people can benefit from the natural world around them – and maybe even help to save it.
Eleven-year-old Alberta Bracken usually spends her summer holidays boogie boarding at the beach, but when she breaks her arm – and her friends aren’t particularly supportive about it – all her plans are scuppered. She feels horribly lonely – a feeling that even the adult readers of this novel can appreciate.
There are problems at home, too (aside from having a mother who writes about Proper Manners and can’t always get on board with Alberta’s more laidback approach to life). Alberta’s father has just moved out of home, and Alberta’s little sister, Clementine, is having a hard time with it.
But, in a lovely demonstration of youthful resilience, curiosity and caring, Alberta’s lost summer becomes something transformative. Holiday friend Mikki Watanabe is back in town, and soon the two have abandoned the beach for the forest, getting to know the ecosystem that feeds all the animals and plants under its canopy.
Alberta is enchanted by the idea of forest bathing – intentional, grounding walks through nature, with many wellbeing benefits that young readers may like to discover for themselves – and she and Mikki decide to share their new favourite place with the world on their social media channel.
This is a thoughtful, sensitive book that isn’t afraid to name the messiness of life and empower its young readers to find a way forward. Mikki and Alberta’s firm friendship models the benefits of creative collaboration and caring for the environment, and when they try to save the tree that mean the most to them, they challenge local authorities in a demonstration of their growing personhood.
With themes that are both socially and eco-conscious, without ever sacrificing the real emotional weight of friend-and-family conflicts and sudden disappointments that feel life-changing or world-ending for young hearts, Mikki and Me and the Out-of-Tune Tree paints an empathetic portrait of a girl – and her friends, and even some adults – who are learning to be better and better at being themselves every day. It also shows that building a better world can start at home, sitting at the base of a tree, or on a walk where you really look at the world around you.
Related units:
For teaching units of work that explore books with similar themes, why not try:
- Bindi, by Kirli Saunders and Dub Leffler, is a verse novel for mid-upper primary students, or, as the book says, ‘for those who plant trees.’
- Aster’s Good, Right Things, by Kate Gordon, also examines family roles and dynamics, as well as friendship themes.