Written by the Italian novelist Italo Calvino, The Baron in the Trees (1957) tells the metaphorical story (the book is a metaphor for independence) of a young boy named Cosimo di Rondó who climbs up a tree intending to spend the rest of his life in an arboreal kingdom. While there, he is able to acclimate to his new environment. For example, he hunts and sows a number of crops so that he can survive.
When it was released, The Baron in the Trees received positive reviews. Kirkus Reviews, for example, liked the book and said that it is "marvelous, bizarre, witty, and free-swinging fantasy concerning Cosimo, the eldest son of a noble family, who, in a moment of rebellion, vows to live out his life up in the trees-and does so." They also, however, said that it is "A book for very special tastes."
