A Possible Tree

Josephine Haskell Aldridge

ISBN 10: 0027004074 / ISBN 13: 9780027004076

Published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing October 1993, 1993

About this Item

Minor rubbing and edge wear to cover, with light reader wear to pages. Still great condition. Dust jacket has minor surface and edgewear with just the back, bottom corner missing a piece. Stock photos may not look exactly like the book.

Seller Inventory # 854419

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Possible Tree
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing October 1993
• Publication Date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0027004074
• ISBN 13: 9780027004076
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: San Souci, Daniel
• Condition: Very Good - Cash
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Youth Oversize

About this title

Synopsis

A crooked fir tree keeps several animals safe from harm.

Reviews

The Brackens are a rather belligerent family. Joe gives up on his coon hound when it won't help him hunt (a coon watches as the dog curls up to sleep under an accommodating fir); Mrs. Bracken flings her wash water at a pesky jay, which escapes to the same tree; their son's slingshot is aimed at squirrels, the hired hands' truck injures a fox--and all the animals find refuge in or under the old tree. Fortunately, its odd shape disqualifies it as lumber, but the woodsmen who cut surrounding trees mention it to the Brackens, who investigate it on Christmas Eve and find a veritable Peaceable Kingdom in its snowy branches. In Aldridge's spare, understated narrative, the outcome is a real surprise, with the thought-provoking ``we have met the enemy and they are us'' message ably supported in San Souci's capably composed, realistic watercolors. Pleasantly offbeat. (Picture book. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 5-8. San Souci's beautiful watercolors add much to this story about a small fir tree that becomes home to many wild animals and a favorite resting place for Joe Bracken's old coon hound. The Brackens keep shooing away pests--a bird, a raccoon, a squirrel--and one by one, the animals seek shelter in the boughs of the small fir tree. In nature, a tree like this is a wonderful kind of ecosystem; in the story, Aldridge marvels at the miracle of it. So, at Christmas time, lumbermen looking for trees on the Bracken property discover the little fir that "looks like Christmas wreaths all over." That night--Christmas Eve--Joe Bracken and his family go out to see this funny tree, and as their lantern shines up and down the length of it, they see the blue jay, the raccoon, the squirrels, the owl, the rabbits, a fox, and Joe's hound--an oasis of wildlife in the dead of winter. "Who would believe this was possible?" they ask. An interesting Christmas-tree story and good read-aloud for young children. Kathryn Broderick