Song of the Trees is set in rural Mississippi during the Great Depression. Our main character Cassie Logan lives with a large family which includes her parents Mary and David, her brothers Stacey, Christopher-John, and Little Man, and her grandmother lovingly called Big Ma. There's a forest of trees on their land. The trees have always had a special place in Cassie's heart. "Good morning. Mr. Trees," I shouted. They answered me with a soft, swooshing sound." The trees gave comfort and security to Cassie at a time when there was great despair.  She believed that the trees sang to her. "A soft breeze stirred, and their voices whispered down to me in a song of morning greeting."

Cassie's father is working on laying rail in Louisiana to help ends meet.  He sends money to his family so they can survive. Cassie overhears a conversation between Big Ma and her mom. The money her father sent was taken from the letter they had received. Her mother needed the money for medication and food for the family. The children are sent out into the forest to tend to their cows and pick blackberries. Cassie senses something isnt right in the forest. "I stared at the trees, aware of an eerie silence descending over the forest." "They ain't singing no more." The children soon discover white X's on many of their trees.

They overhear two men and their plans to cut down their trees for lumber. One of the men, Mr. Anderson plans to visit the Logan farm that day. Mr. Anderson speaks to Big Ma and their mom and offers them sixty-five dollars for their trees.  They are hesitant at first, but an underlying threat of violence against their father and their mothers need for medication forces Big Ma to concede.

In a last ditch attempt to save the trees, Stacey leaves in the middle of the night to get their father. Cassie is not allowed in the forest during this time, but can hear "the foreign sounds of steel against the trees and the thunderous roar of those ancient loved ones as they crashed upon the earth." Cassie's younger brother, Little Man cannot wait for his father any longer and decides to go into the forest to stop the cutting. Unfortunately, all the children are stopped by the lumberman. The lumberman attempt to remove the children out of the forest when they discover that Mr. Logan has returned.

The rural setting is amplified with the characters dialect, their everyday activities and their style of dress. Jerry Pinkney's pencil illustrations help bring to light African Americans during that time. The children are depicted with naturally kinky hair with Cassie having a few braids. They are all barefoot with clothing that is appropriate for children on a farm. His shadings of the children's faces vary in intensity to depict their skin color. I would recommend this book for upper level elementary students and is a great way to view the Great Depression through the eyes of African Americans.