"Tap the Magic Tree" and "The Tree Lady" From "Tap the Magic Tree" As leaves begin to change color and summer gives way to fall, two books about trees, Christie Matheson's "Tap the Magic Tree" and "The Tree Lady," written by H. Joseph Hopkins and illustrated by Jill McElmurry, draw on their dramatic mutability and their ability to transform landscape. Like Hervé Tullet's charming 2011 book, "Press Here," Matheson's "Tap the Magic Tree" proves you don't need apps for interactivity. Book technology is a lot easier for kids to handle and comprehend than an iPhone or an iPad, and it can offer similar effects. Using a technique that seems inspired by flip books, Matheson begins her rhyming narrative with a pretty watercolor of a tree. There's magic in this bare brown tree. Tap it once. Turn the page to see. The next page reveals the same tree, now displaying a single light green leaf. The child makes the seasons change by following Matheson's instructions; each turned page shows the result. Brush away the petals (swish!) and blow the tree a tiny kiss. At last, the tree's branches are bare again, but a little bird chirps at its parent from a nest in the boughs. Close your eyes and count to ten. Magic! It begins again. You can imagine this book wearing out after repeated tapping, swishing, counting and shaking, but at least you won't ever have to recharge its battery. For slightly older readers ready for a little history, Hopkins describes the magic wrought by the Tree Lady, a real Victorian-era woman named Kate Sessions, who transformed San Diego's arid Balboa Park into a lush, tree-filled garden. In 1881, Sessions was the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science, and after a short stint in the respectable profession of teaching, she followed her heart into horticulture. Hopkins includes a lot of facts in the story, but his clever repetition of the phrase "But Kate did" each time her success confound expectations adds rhythm and a predictable structure. Even children who find the details of Sessions" life difficult to absorb are likely to be enchanted by the book's appearance. McElmurry's paintings combine stylized design elements with naturalistic details. Porcelain-doll-like girls and boys, in frilly white dresses and short trousers respectively, have character and attitude. In one illustration, McElmurry shows rows of students (the rows stacked liked layer cakes) at their desks, each one with an identical plant specimen. But the children are doing things individually: whispering to neighbors, daydreaming, raising a hand, and in one case, napping. Likewise, the plants and trees are detailed and distinct but also simplified enough that their basic structures can be easily understood. "The Tree Lady" has an obvious companion in "Miss Rumphius," Barbara Cooney's prize-winning 1982 picture book about the Lupine Lady, who scattered flower seeds along the Maine coast. In their own way, these true stories of unconventional American lives fulfill their heroines" ambitions of making the world a more beautiful place - and plant the seeds of future beauty in the minds of their readers.