1. Animals
2. Arnhem Land (N.T.)
3. Autobiographies
4. Birds
5. Ecology
6. Emotions
7. Empathy
8. Endpapers
9. Environmental degradation
10. Environmental protection
11. Families
12. Fathers
13. First Nations people
14. Graphic novels
15. Identity
16. Indigenous knowledge
17. Insects
18. Kakadu National Park (N.T.)
19. Mining
20. Mothers
21. Nature
22. Parents
23. Plants
24. Self-confidence
25. Self-esteem
26. Trees
27. Visual literacy
28. Wildlife conservation

The author states, ‘Ever since I was a kid my favourite place has always been up a tree – where everything I notice feels like a part of me. Every birdsong, every leaf’s light, every butterfly’s dance …’

‘Treeshape’ is a unique creation crossing over several genres including graphic novels, autobiographical memoirs and nonfiction. Trace Balla’s fifth work for young people fills 132 pages with highly detailed illustrations and text with a hand-drawn font unique to the creator. Her passionate involvement with the Australian environment captures readers and viewers and leaves them deeply moved.

Readers share her personal and life-changing experiences of her family and her deep love for the environment. Most importantly, ‘Treeshape,’ more than her earlier books, touches us deeply and leaves us with deep insights into the Australian environment. We leave ‘Treeshape’ feeling we owe the environment a duty of care.

Mature readers of the ‘Treeshape’ will experience the author’s emotions of loss, sadness and dismay as we experience her family upbringing. Her father was a refugee from Hungary in World War Two, and her mother suffered mental illness. Balla’s heritage and upbringing explore why she sought deep and meaningful connections as she could see what her parents had lost when they moved or fled from their homes.

Here Balla focusses on the Australian environment, as a fighter and advocate from the 1970s. She continues to participate in various Australian protests when the Australian environment is threatened by uranium mining or otherwise endangered. Given its complex breadth and depth of content and concepts it would be beneficial for adults and children to share and experience the book together.

Trace Balla lives on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. She works closely with Aboriginal People to learn from and protect the Australian environment for future generations. Balla prods readers to immerse themselves in observing, interacting and supporting the Australian environment. In ‘Treeshape’ she leaves the reader with a final question: ‘I wonder what shape your tree is growing into and what your fruit might be … ?’

1. Ramona Magazine Mar 2026 Interview with Trace Balla by Freya Bennett ‘Trace Balla on Treeshape: Childhood, Protests, and the Power of Stories’ https://ramonamag.com/2026/03/trace-balla-on-treeshape-childhood-protests-and-the-power-of-stories/
2. Good Reading Mar 2026 interview with ‘Trace Balla on her graphic novel ‘Treeshape’ https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/article/trace-balla-on-her-graphic-novel-treeshape/
3. Paperbark Joy in Books 18 Mar 2026 ‘Treeshape’ by Trace Balla https://paperbarkwords.blog/2026/03/18/treeshape-by-trace-balla/
4. The Book Muse 3 March 2026 Ashleigh Meike reviews ‘Treeshape’ https://ashleighmeikle.com.au/2026/03/03/treeshape-by-trace-balla/
5. Midland Express 17 Mar 2026 ‘Award-winning author to launch new memoir’ https://midlandexpress.com.au/leisure/2026/03/17/trace-balla-to-launch-treeshape-the-shape-of-a-tree/
6. Northern Beaches Mums [2026] Book review of ‘Treeshape’ https://northernbeachesmums.com.au/book-review-treeshape-by-trace-balla/
7. Kitchen Garden Foundation 11 Mar 2026. Interview with Trace Balla. ‘Bookworm: a kitchen garden at the heart of the story’ https://www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/bookworm-trace-balla
8. Journalling with Nature podcase Episode 195 ‘Trace Balla — Catching and hatching stories’ (1 hr+) https://www.journalingwithnature.com/podcasts/episode-195-trace-balla
9. AATE/ALEA Conference Darwin 2014 ‘Bringing Aboriginal perspectives into English education’ https://missshipp.wordpress.com/culturally-sensitive-teaching/
10. Scandinavian University Press 17 Aug 2022 Article by Melanie Duckworth ‘Mapping, Counter Mapping and Country in Trace Balla’s Graphic Novels’ https://www.scup.com/doi/10.18261/blft.13.1.4
11. Trace Balla website news https://traceballa.com/news