The Pear Tree

In this folktale retold, Esperanza gives her very last pear to a beggar and is rewarded with the best pear crop she’s ever had—and the power to ensnare anyone she wants in her tree.

When Señor Death comes for her, Esperanza tricks him into climbing her tree, where he becomes stuck, unable to come down and do his work. From that point on, no one dies. But when Esperanza learns that her friend in the next town is suffering terribly, she realizes that the end of death doesn’t mean the end of suffering and agrees to let Señor Death down from her tree. The final work by legendary children’s author Luli Gray with an afterword by the publisher that explains why Gray changed the story to include hope.

Luisa “Luli” Gray (1945–2017) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She grew up in a bilingual family of readers, writers, and talkers, and though she always considered herself a writer—of mostly letters and comic verse—she did not begin writing fiction until 1987. After leaving her husband in 1971, she wandered all over Europe and Latin America, working as a barmaid, housemaid, short order cook, actress, singer, waitress, restaurant chef, and caterer before falling into food writing, more or less by accident. As an adult Luli lived in Boston and Greenwich Village for many years before moving to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she lived the rest of her life. Luli once said, “I write because it makes me happy, and I cannot think of a better way to make a living than by doing something I so dearly love.” Her first novel, Falcon’s Egg, was an ALA Notable Book.

Madelyn Goodnight knew during her time at the Rhode Island School of Design that she wanted to illustrate for kids. Growing up in Oklahoma gave her plenty of room to imagine, play, and dream about all the things she would experience when she grew up. Her family encouraged her to explore anything and everything and shared a deep connection to their Native American heritage that emphasized the magic of storytelling. With each new book or piece of art that she makes, she’s always trying to convey that magic. Madie uses a wide range of media and outlets for her art so that is is as diverse, energetic, and playful as the children who are seeing it. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.