When Wilma decides that her garden needs a new beginning, she gathers string, scissors, shovels, sixty-two dozen balsam seedlings, and Parker, her five-year-old neighbor. Year after year, Wilma and Parker nurture their trees, keeping careful count of how many they plant, how many perish, and how many grow to become Christmas trees.
This companion to the award-winning Pumpkins: A Story for a Field is a lyrical, behind-the-scenes look at the intricate lives of Christmas trees. It includes an author's note about the history and cultivation of Christmas trees.
"Root’s appealing watercolor-and-gouache illustrations invite inspection, from scenes of the field in different seasons to those that show Wilma and Parker’s harmonious teamwork over time. Ray gracefully conveys an acceptance of natural cycles: some trees are lost to “deer that dug in the snow to chew the sweet green tips.” The year that Parker is 10, the team sells their first 566 trees and then, looking to the future, order dozens of new seedlings. All the numbers add up to an added math theme in a story that lovingly depicts the hard work, cooperation, and patience necessary to grow crops." -- Abby Nolan, Booklist
Recommended Age | 4 - 8 |
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Author | Mary Lyn Ray |
Illustrator | Barry Root |
ISBN | 0152162909 |
Publication Date | Oct 1, 2008 |
Publisher | Harcourt Children's Books |
Language | English |