Bruno Munari begins with a rule simple enough to belong to a child: every branch that follows must be thinner than the branch before it.

From there, Drawing a Tree becomes a compact lesson in observation, variation and intelligent play. Munari shows how trunks divide, how branches respond to wind and gravity, how the same underlying structure can produce a poplar, a willow, a bare winter tree or something stranger. The point is not botanical accuracy so much as learning how form grows.

Originally published in Italian in 1978, the book sits somewhere between an artist’s manual, a design exercise and a picture book. Munari teaches the reader to notice systems, then disrupt them. Once the principle is understood, obedience becomes beside the point. His spare black-and-green illustrations make structure visible without draining it of life, and the book’s openness means it works equally well for children, artists, designers and anyone trying to recover a less anxious relationship with making. Corraini describes it as part of its Workshop series, designed to bring children, adults, teachers and students into the same practical and imaginative process.

Edizioni Corraini, 2005. English-language Corraini first reprint, translated by Isobel Butters. Paperback. Very good condition with light shelf and edge wear, minor corner rubbing and a faint cover crease. Internally clean and bright.