Together, a Forest

Drawing Connections Between Nature’s Diversity and Our Own

March 2025, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

Canada Chapters / Indigo , IndieBookstores, Amazon

US Barnes and Noble , IndieBound , Books A Million , Amazon

“Explore a forest with a curious classroom in this breathtaking new picture book and experience the essential beauty of diversity in humanity and nature.

The picture book, Together, A Forest: Drawing Connections Between Nature’s Diversity and Our Own, by Roz MacLean . On the cover a group of children is walking along a forest path, with trees and sun beams above them, and tree roots spreading below. The title of the book is in bold, colourful text.

Joy and her peers are eager to visit a nearby forest for a class trip, but Joy’s excitement quickly turns into anxiety when she is asked to choose one thing in the area for a school assignment.

A young black girl with braids is pictured in vignettes inside lichen shapes against a blue background of the forest. On the left side of the page there is a partial tree trunk with many kinds of lichen growing. Inside the lichen vignettes there is an image of her sitting on the floor while her mom braids her hair, her mom lifting her out of bed, her playing basketball while using her wheelchair, her using a sleep apnea machine, and her taking a sip of water with her medication. All of the drawing is done in blues and greens. Text reads: Fungi give Lichens their shape, while algae make food from the sun. Sofia's life is full of teamwork and helping too.
Alex, a child, looks over their shoulder at a bee zooming along a colourful path visiting various wildflowers. The bee lands on a trillium flower. Amidst the various flowers, Alex's friends are sitting or climbing, waving to them as they run along the bee's rainbow ribbon of flight.

Seeing her classmates connecting with the natural environment, Joy discovers how each of their choices reflect the ways they relate to and interact with the world. Together, a Forest begins as an exciting journey into nature and blossoms into a meditation on how our unique personalities and ways of being help create a more vibrant and beautiful world. The forest reveals that everyone—including those of us with disabilities and neurodivergence—belong to nature. There is no one right way for a mind, body, or person to be.

I chose the subtitle “Drawing Connections Between Nature’s Diversity and Our Own” not only because drawing is a central activity in the book, but because this story is all about the parallels between ecological and human diversity. An ecosystem thrives when it is populated with a multitude of difference – life forms that excel in unique niches and roles – and I believe human communities are this way too. We are not all meant to be or function the same way, and communities that recognize and make space for this reality are, in my view, the most healthy and beautiful.

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