My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me

American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture's Book of the Year- 2024
In this moving tale about the depths of love and care a grandfather and granddaughter have for one another, author Roxanne Troup and artist Kendra Binney deliver a timeless story sure to become a classic.

Of all the trees in Grandpa's orchard, one tree is his favorite--a pecan tree, planted for his granddaughter on the day she was born.

As the seasons change, the leaves unfurl and fall again while Grandpa tenderly cares for each  tree in his orchard. Sometimes they need pruning, sometimes they need feeding. They all need harvesting, and the granddaughter loves watching the tractor hug the trees' trunks and shake until leaves and twigs and pecans rain down.

But not the child's tree--her tree is special. It is not a part of the orchard. It's for just the two of them and all the ways their relationship grows as they care for this special tree: tending its roots, harvesting its pecan treasures, and creating something delicious together.

Roxanne Troup grew up along the waterways of Missouri, where everyone had a pecan tree but few grew pecans commercially. Today, she lives in the mountains of Colorado (where no one grows pecans) and writes kid's books that celebrate the wonder of childhood and beauty of family.


Kendra Binney is a fine artist and illustrator from Vancouver, WA. Her paintings have been exhibited, sold, and published around the world, but her favorite place on earth is still her own backyard. There she loves to spend time with her family and menagerie of animals; giving nicknames to visiting birds, and planting things in the dirt in hopes that they will grow.