Tree Talk by Simon Cooke is a reflective fantasy fiction text that weaves environmental awareness with imagination to explore responsibility, empathy, and care for the natural world. Through the perspectives of siblings Ruby and Sefa, the story begins with the children becoming lost while camping and gradually shifts into a magical encounter where trees speak, feel, and act as guardians. As native trees such as rimu, tōtara, mataī, and kahikatea discuss humans, climate change, and protection of the forest, the narrative gently introduces complex ideas about environmental damage and human responsibility in a way that is accessible and hopeful. The trees choose to help the children by creating a trail of leaves and berries, modelling cooperation and care rather than blame. Imaginative, thoughtful, and richly symbolic, the text supports students to understand environmental responsibility through story, voice, and metaphor. 

The text is ideal for integrated learning across literacy, science, and social sciences, supporting inquiry into climate change, kaitiakitanga, and relationships between people and the natural world in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This pack contains wide range of response activities including:

• A guided reading plan exploring key literacy elements including inference and deduction, language use, making connection and text organisation, along with key questioning to promote emotional intelligence, metacognition and compassionate inquiry. 
• An independent learning contract complete with explainer videos for activity clarity
  
• A wide range of response activities to support developing and embedding key literacy skills including sentence and word work, spelling, and cloze activities. 

Curriculum Phase: Phase 2
Year Level: Year 4

English (NZC Levels 2–3): reading for meaning and enjoyment, analysing narrative voice and dialogue, understanding fantasy elements and symbolism, making connections between ideas, exploring theme and author message

Science – Living World: forests and ecosystems, human impact on the environment, climate change, care for living things

Social Sciences – Aotearoa New Zealand Histories: environmental responsibility, continuity and change, identity and belonging, kaitiakitanga, relationships with place

Text type: Fiction, fantasy narrative, reflective narrative

Key words include: trees, forest, camping, climate change, environment, fantasy, talking trees, rimu, tōtara, mataī, kahikatea, kaitiakitanga, guardianship, responsibility, humans and nature, empathy, sustainability, conservation, lost, teamwork, problem-solving, berries, trail, imagination, symbolism, caring for the planet