Tree Finder

Inexpensive and ingenious, these little guides send you down a series of "yes/no" questions to discover the identity of your "mystery species." To use the Trees guide, you first select a typical leaf from a tree you'd like to identify, and then flip to page 5 to start. Page 5 asks you if the tree has needles or leaves, and from there, you flip from page to page, narrowing your search by making a series of choices: "If the leaves are compound, composed of several leaflets..." or "If the leaves are simple..." As you flip from page to page, you'll "track down" your tree! More engaging than flipping through a large field guide, this turns identification into almost a game. You won't find full-color photos in these guides, just detailed 2-tone illustrations and small sketches. But at this price, you can afford to pair one of these with a photo field guide so you can back up your research with another source as well. Tree, Flower, Berry and Bird are designed for native and commonly introduced species in the U.S and Canada east of the Rockies. Constellations is structured a little bit differently, starting the viewer with constellations they know, and "tracking" from there, incorporating some mythology and star stories as well. 60 pgs each, pb. - Jess