Life as a tree isn't as boring as one might expect, as SEBASTIAN the ash will tell you in this tale of adventures from his neck of the woods.
In the glade by the stream where Sebastian lives, the forest is alive with a thriving cast of creatures. The boulder, MARION, Sebastian's true love, the finicky FUNGI COLONY, OTIS THE GRUMPY OAK, and the hooligan woodpeckers RALPH and BARBARA are some of the characters who fill this tale with funny adventures and profound insights into the nature of life.
But all is not well in the forest. A threatening pestilence has arrived — EMERALD ASH BEETLES! It is known that the forest is a sensitive ecosystem in which all are connected. A fearsome army is assembled in Sebastian's defense in the battle for his life.
Sebastian's thoughts turn metaphysical as the years pass and he ponders the meaning of life and death.
The tale comes full circle when millions of years later, Sebastian and Marion are reunited. Their love is as strong as ever, only their physical forms have changed through the eons. Sebastian is home, for home is wherever in the universe their love resides.
Life as a tree isn't as boring as one might expect, as SEBASTIAN the ash will tell you in this tale of adventures from his neck of the woods.
In the glade by the stream where Sebastian lives, the forest is alive with a thriving cast of creatures. The boulder, MARION, Sebastian's true love, the finicky FUNGI COLONY, OTIS THE GRUMPY OAK, and the hooligan woodpeckers RALPH and BARBARA are some of the characters who fill this tale with funny adventures and profound insights into the nature of life.
But all is not well in the forest. A threatening pestilence has arrived — EMERALD ASH BEETLES! It is known that the forest is a sensitive ecosystem in which all are connected. A fearsome army is assembled in Sebastian's defense in the battle for his life.
Sebastian's thoughts turn metaphysical as the years pass and he ponders the meaning of life and death.
The tale comes full circle when millions of years later, Sebastian and Marion are reunited. Their love is as strong as ever, only their physical forms have changed through the eons. Sebastian is home, for home is wherever in the universe their love resides.
Chapter One
A Tree is Born
Within stillness, even great adventures may transpire. A stationary life is not an
unremarkable existence as you, dear humans, are conditioned to believe. Love can be found
between any two entities that you may rest your eyes upon. I should know, for I fell in love with
Marion, the boulder, the moment my height reached the point where I could see over the cluster
of thorny bushes that she lay behind. Time, for me, is not linear; it is round like the seasons and
the cycles of life. And space is not something that I move through; rather, it swirls around me
while I stand in place. Everything moves slowly when you are a creature such as I, a wise and old
ash tree.
I do not remember how I came to be. My spirit was protected inside a tiny seedpod and I
was asleep; oblivious of the fact that my pod would soon embed itself in the surface of the earth
and that with the help of nutrients and water, I would be awakened by the mysterious miracle of
consciousness. All of my life has been spent here in this one stationary place, the place where my
seedpod happened to land. The seed took root and I was born.
I like to imagine that I floated on a breeze for many miles, over valleys and mountain peaks
until I landed here in this precious glade by the stream. But more likely, old Mrs. Fox deposited
me here out of the depths of her bowels after eating a squirrel who had eaten my seedpod. Yousee, this was the regular location of her night-time toilet, as I came to discover later when I was a
wee sapling.
You may say to yourself, how dull it must be to be a tree. To never run on two (or four)
legs or fly with wings or swim in the sea. To never laugh aloud or converse with friends. To never
experience what it is to hold a newborn baby in your arms or lay entwined with the one you love.
But you would be wrong, my friend. In fact, there are many ways to exist within this universe and
just as many ways to experience it. To be a tree is to feel everything there is to feel, and to know
all that transpires in the world. Because every living being is connected, it is possible for me,
Sebastian the ash, to know what occurs on the other side of the world. I hear it whispered in the
wind, sung by the birds and spirited to my roots by the fungi that live beneath the crust of the earth.
I see the births and the deaths of all the creatures around me as they pass through this life, each
leaving their mark in the collective memory of existence no matter how tiny a life they may be.
I do not experience the elements the same as you. I have built-in mechanisms by which I
do not feel the cold or the heat. That being said, a fresh layer of fluffy snow does feel cozy like a
soft down blanket. It tickles to goodness when the wind blows through my branches and my leaves
jiggle and shake. Squirrels are the best itch-scratchers around. Their claws are capable of satisfying
the most stubborn of tickles as they scamper up and down my trunk.
My favorite time of year is spring. For it is then when life awakens once more and the
feeling of promise is in the air. The buds of leaves and blossoms appear upon my branches. Fluffy
little critters come out of their dens and the chirps and squeals of hungry baby birds can be heard
throughout the forest. Best of all, when the snows melt, I once again get to set my gaze upon my
eternal beloved, Marion.There is nothing more beautiful on this earth than my Marion. Her surface is a perfect slate
grey, cool and smooth, and she wears a blanket of orange, green and blue lichen that is lovely with
her complexion. She is round and with soft curves and gentle; yet, solid and dependable like the
boulder she is. She is as old as the earth itself and has seen everything there is to see. And still,
Marion is full of wonder at the world around her.
Strange and mysterious things occur here, but they are not unexplainable. The forest is a
living entity, made up of thousands of individual beings that move and think as one. This ability
is beyond human understanding and so, for the purposes of this story, we shall call it magic.
Emily Poilé’s The Tales of Sebastian the Ash is one of those rare books that feels both timeless and delightfully strange, a story that invites readers—children and adults alike—to slow down, listen, and reconsider what it means to be alive in a connected world. Poilé, a Monterey-born artist now in Athens, combines whimsy, philosophy and ecology into a charming yet profound narrative. Her lyrical prose and vivid setting feature memorable characters—Marion the Boulder, Otis the Grumpy Oak, Ralph and Barbara the woodpeckers—creating a whimsical world rooted in ecological truth. The arrival of emerald ash beetles introduces urgency while maintaining a gentle, contemplative tone.
Sebastian, our ash‑tree narrator, is rooted in a glade by a stream, yet his world is anything but static. Through his perspective, the novel explores the interconnectedness of all living things with warmth and surprising emotional depth. We also meet a cast of forest characters who feel instantly memorable. Poilé gives each character a personality that is humorous without ever slipping into caricature. The forest feels alive, interconnected and bustling with drama—despite the fact that its protagonist cannot move an inch.
One of the book’s most striking passages occurs on a spring morning when the forest bursts with music—finches, ferns, the babbling brook, even Otis’s reluctant baritone. Poilé uses this scene to highlight the harmony of the ecosystem: every creature contributes its own voice, creating a symphony of interdependence. The moment is idyllic, almost sacred. Then comes the whimsy in the form of a "ka-pow". The explosive interruption is not just a plot device—it’s a tonal shock that mirrors the fragility of natural balance. The forest’s fear is immediate and visceral, underscoring how quickly peace can be disrupted by forces beyond the creatures’ understanding. Poilé’s use of contrast here—serenity shattered by menace—beautifully sets the stage for the novel’s central conflict and its deeper themes of vulnerability, resilience, and community.
The Tales of Sebastian the Ash is a charming, thoughtful read that will appeal to nature lovers, young readers with big imaginations, and adults who appreciate stories with philosophical undercurrents. Poilé invites us to slow down, listen, and consider the unseen connections that shape our world. It’s a book that lingers long after the final page. I'm happy to report that this is a 5‑star read to emphasize that this is a standout, memorable and beautifully crafted work.