The Christmas Tree Who Loved Trains

by Annie Silvestro, Paola Zakimi (Illustrator)

Overview

A poignant Christmas tale about a tree who loved trains, and a little boy who loved them, too.

A pine tree grew in the farthest corner of the tree farm on a small patch of land that bordered the train track. The tree loved trains. She loved to watch them ZOOM by on the tracks beside the tree farm. Her branches would ripple in the wind as the trains roared past.

But one morning, when a little boy picks her to be his Christmas tree, she is uprooted and brought to a home far from the ZOOMING trains she loves…

Beautiful art from Paola Zakimi brings to life this lovely Christmastime tale from Annie Silvestro, perfect for readers who love The Giving Tree and The Velveteen Rabbit.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062561688
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/18/2018
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	541,325
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Annie Silvestro is a book lover who reads and writes as much as possible. She can often be found shuffling piles of books around so she has a place to sit or someplace to put her teacup. Her picture books include The Christmas Tree Who Loved Trains, illustrated by Paola Zakimi, Bunny’s Book Club, illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss, and Mice Skating, illustrated by Teagan White. Annie lives with her family by the beach in New Jersey. Christmas is her very favorite holiday. Visit Annie online at www.anniesilvestro.com.

Paola Zakimi is a children’s book illustrator from Argentina. Her books include The Christmas Tree Who Loved Trains by Annie Silvestro, Secrets I Know by Kallie George, and Teddy & Co. by Cynthia Voigt. Paola loves to create all kinds of art—drawing, illustration, sculpture, and painting. She lives in Villa Giardino.

Editorial Reviews

The story is sweet without being saccharine, and the illustrations, in soft greens and bright reds, are homey and warm.

Horn Book Magazine

2018-08-20

A solitary pine tree on the outskirts of a tree farm enjoys her place near the tracks, where she can hear trains roar past.

A little boy who loves trains as much as she does comes with his father to choose a Christmas tree. There's an instant connection between the boy and the personified (but not visibly anthropomorphized) tree, and she's the one he chooses to take home. Lest a child be horrified at the thought of the father cutting down the tree, the illustrations make clear that it's carefully dug up and roots swaddled in burlap for the trip. The boy is happy, but the tree, now trapped in the corner of a room, is sad that she can no longer hear the trains. When the boy sets up his new toy train around the tree, she's happy once again. Eventually, the boy and his father take her back to her favorite spot by the tracks and replant her. This beautifully designed and illustrated book conveys the emotional import of moments big and small through a visual rhythm that intersperses double-page spreads with smaller, more intimate scenes in soft ovals set against white space. The title page echoes the cover while framing the publication information within the tracks. Soft reds and greens enhance the Christmas theme, while onomatopoeic display type propels the action. The boy and his family present white.

Reminiscent of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Fir-Tree," this story of friendship will warm children's hearts. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews

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