The Littlest Evergreen: A Christmas Holiday Book for Kids

by Henry Cole, Henry Cole (Illustrator)

Overview

The littlest evergreen lived a quiet life on a peaceful hillside. Then one December evening, everything changed. . . .

Henry Cole’s The Littlest Evergreen sends a beautiful and timely message about nurturing life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061146190
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/27/2011
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,075,454
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Henry Cole was a celebrated science teacher for many years before turning his talents to children’s books. He has worked on nearly one hundred and fifty books for children, including Unspoken, Big Bug, A Nest for Celeste, Jack’s Garden, and On Meadowview Street. Henry loves being outside, where he can sketch and write. His favorite sound is the first robin song of the spring. You can visit him online at www.henrycole.net.

Henry Cole was a celebrated science teacher for many years before turning his talents to children’s books. He has worked on nearly one hundred and fifty books for children, including Unspoken, Big Bug, A Nest for Celeste, Jack’s Garden, and On Meadowview Street. Henry loves being outside, where he can sketch and write. His favorite sound is the first robin song of the spring. You can visit him online at www.henrycole.net.

Editorial Reviews

In the voice of the titular character, Cole (A Nest for Celeste) wistfully recounts the life and times of a Christmas tree. The sound of chain saws in late autumn stirs fear in the tree that has come to love growing on a wide-open hillside. The tree’s small stature spares it from the blade. Instead it’s bundled, roots and all, off to the Christmas tree lot where a family brings it home for a holiday celebration and a new life afterward. Bucolic expanses of evergreen forest and closeups of woodland creatures may give readers new appreciation for that quintessential seasonal decoration. Ages 4–7. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Bucolic expanses of evergreen forest and closeups of woodland creatures may give readers new appreciation for that quintessential seasonal decoration.” — Publishers Weekly

“A fine Christmas choice with an environmental message.” — School Library Journal

“Through a clear, engaging text and lush yet lively illustrations, Cole celebrates embracing that which makes us unique in a narrative that also focuses on respecting nature.” — The Horn Book

From the Publisher

Through a clear, engaging text and lush yet lively illustrations, Cole celebrates embracing that which makes us unique in a narrative that also focuses on respecting nature.

The Horn Book

PreS-Gr 2—Told from the perspective of a small evergreen, this tale begins with the narrator as a sprout and continues through the seasons until men come with their chainsaws. Luckily, the tree's size saves it from being cut down. "They dug me out of the earth and bound my roots tightly with cloth and rope. Then I too was put on the truck." Taken to a Christmas tree lot, it is taken home by a family where it is decorated with ornaments and begins to feel loved. After a few weeks, the evergreen is replanted in the yard, where it grows big and strong. Illustrations are of a contemporary setting with nature's beauty brought forth through the lush greenery. A fine Christmas choice with an environmental message.—Diane Olivo-Posner, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

This tale is narrated by an anthropomorphic, talking Christmas treethat describes its life cycle from seedling through a Christmas season as a decorated tree and then on to full growth as a tall evergreen.

The tree marks its growth through all sorts of weather and recounts the different birds that have nested in its branches. One year, in late fall, workers with chain saws cut down the surrounding trees, but the narrating tree is too small, so it is dug up and taken to the sales lot as a living tree. A family purchases the tree, decorating it for Christmas and then planting it in their yard. The final illustration shows the immense, full-grown tree, who has had "a long and beautiful life." Ascribing human emotions to the narrator tree strains credulity, and the sadness attributed to the cut trees will make anyone with that sort of tree in the house feel guilty. Serviceable illustrations in double-page spread format adequately support the text, but the narrating tree never truly takes root as a real character.

Talking Christmas trees really aren't a good idea for a children's book.(Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews