The Tree of Life: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World

by Elisa Boxer, Alianna Rozentsveig (Illustrator)

Overview

Hope triumphs over fear in this poignant and impactful true story of the Holocaust—a delicate introduction to World War Two history for older picture book readers.

During World War Two, in the concentration camp Terezin, a group of Jewish children and their devoted teacher planted and nurtured a smuggled-in sapling. Over time fewer and fewer children were left to care for the little tree, but those who remained kept lovingly sharing their water with it. When the war finally ended and the prisoners were freed, the sapling had grown into a strong five-foot-tall maple.

Nearly eighty years later the tree’s 600 descendants around the world are thriving . . . including one that was planted at New York City’s Museum of Jewish Heritage in 2021. Students will continue to care for it for generations to come, and the world will remember the brave teacher and children who never gave up nurturing a brighter future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593617137
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	01/16/2024
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Elisa Boxer is an Emmy-winning journalist whose writing has been featured in publications including The New York Times and Fast Company. She is the author of several acclaimed nonfiction picture books. She lives in Maine with her family and has written this story to honor her Jewish family members who died during the Holocaust.

Alianna Rozentsveig is a Jewish illustrator who was born in the USSR and now lives in a small town in Israel. She graduated from the visual communications department at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, with a specialization in illustration. This is her second book, and first book published in the U.S.

Editorial Reviews

10/09/2023

Irma Lauscher (1904–1985) carried out two enduring acts of resistance in the Terezin ghetto during WWII. She secretly taught the children imprisoned with her to read, write, and celebrate the Jewish holidays, and with help, obtained a maple sapling in observance of Tu BiShvat. She and her students planted it in a hidden corner, sharing precious drops of water with the growing tree, which became known throughout Terezin as Etz Chaim, the Tree of Life. “Fewer and fewer children were left to care for the tree”—one image shows a frightened youth holding a leaf during a deportation to “a place that was even worse.” But the tree and Lauscher survive and serve as witnesses: the tree thrives for more than six decades, and Lauscher, who “saw to it that seeds from the tree were planted all over the world,” memorializes all of those who were denied a future. Boxer (A Seat at the Table) and illustrator Rozentsveig strike a reportorial tone in measured prose and softly textured digital art of largely pale-skinned historical figures, conveying both the necessity and limits of hope in the darkest of times. An author’s note concludes. Ages 5–9. (Jan.) ■

Publishers Weekly

"Elisa Boxer and illustrator Alianna Rozentsveig strike a reportorial tone in measured prose and softly textured digital art of largely pale-skinned historical figures, conveying both the necessity and limits of hope in the darkest of times. Anauthor’s note concludes.." —Publishers Weekly

"Art and text combine for an honest yet optimistic and age-appropriate portrayal of a difficult topic. A gentle, accessible take on resilience."  —Kirkus Review

★ "Focusing the narrative on the tree that came to be known as Etz Chaim, the Tree of Life, Boxer threads the delicate needle of keeping hope alight while also writing with age-appropriate frankness about the horrors of the Holocaust and the reckoning with its aftermath. This sensitive depiction of the experience of Terezin’s children is an essential addition to classroom collections andcurricula."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Boxer and Rozentsveig provide a story of hope in this book, focusing on the life and legacy of a maple tree planted in secret by Irma Lauscher, a Jewish teacher, and students in Terezin (located in modern-dayCzech Republic). The difficult subject matter feels more approachable both through the narrative’s language and accompanying soft illustrations. An approachable and valuable resource. Recommended for most collections." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

01/26/2024

K-Gr 4—Boxer and Rozentsveig provide a story of hope in this book, focusing on the life and legacy of a maple tree planted in secret by Irma Lauscher, a Jewish teacher, and students in Terezin (located in modern-day Czech Republic). Miraculously, both the teacher and the tree survive the Holocaust and WWII. Subsequently, seeds from the tree are planted around the world; those trees are still thriving today, despite the original "dropping its last leaf" in 2007. The difficult subject matter feels more approachable both through the narrative's language and accompanying soft illustrations. A sparingly used, intense red indicates the Nazis' presence and amplifies with a jolt the otherwise earth-toned artwork. After the narrative, an author's note provides additional information about the descendants of the original tree, the teacher, and the location itself. Selected sources are also included. Front end papers feature fall-colored foliage on a black background, while in the back, bright spring colors evoke hope and a new day. VERDICT An approachable and valuable resource. Recommended for most collections.—Taylor Worley

School Library Journal

2023-10-21
A tree survives the Holocaust, though most of the children who cared for it don’t.

It’s winter in Terezin, the Czechoslovakian propaganda camp with which the Nazis tricked the credulous Red Cross into believing their treatment of Jews was humane. Here, children are allowed to attend school, and one teacher, Irma Lauscher, has the children plant a smuggled-in maple sapling. Miraculously, the children keep the tree alive in the camp, even as they themselves weaken or die. Art and text combine for an honest yet optimistic and age-appropriate portrayal of a difficult topic. When they first see the tree, the children are still round-faced if ragged, their pale, large-eyed faces capable of joy. As the war continues and the tree grows, the children’s faces grow wearier, their bodies huddled against cold and despair. Many of the children vanish entirely; although only the author’s note clarifies that these children have been murdered in Auschwitz, a foreboding spread of a deportation train (“taken away on trains to a place that was even worse”) nonetheless makes clear that their fates are dire. Despite the mass murder, the tree survives—as does Irma. In 2021, a cutting from the tree was planted in New York City. Now the somber hues, punctuated by reds, give way to a hopeful green surrounding the racially diverse children of New York—round-faced and joyful.

A gentle, accessible take on resilience. (sources) (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews