Joan White and Warren Gerds with their book. Submitted.
The Wisconsin Visual Artists Northeast Chapter Show 2024, on view at the Miller Art Museum through July 6, includes a work of art that is the basis for a new children’s book.
The book, A Friendly Tree, is by Wisconsin wildlife artist Joan White and Green Bay Press-Gazette journalist Warren Gerds.
The book is available in the museum gift shop for $25, while the piece of art on its cover, an oil painting on wood, is on display.
A Friendly Tree includes a story and 170 wildlife images in which young readers can find critters. A key in the book identifies each animal, and White offers simple tips for youngsters for drawing with pencil and paper.
A real disfigured tree is the basis of the story, the moral of which is, according to Gerds, “What the tree looks like makes no difference to the animals around it.”
A Friendly Tree has been accepted into the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
