Arbor Day Square Book

In this fictionalized retelling of the origins of Arbor Day, Katie and Papa struggle to make their growing frontier town feel like home, following Mama's death. What's missing? Trees—trees for climbing, trees for shade, trees for fruit or warm winter fires. And trees for beauty.

Children's Literature

The small prairie town was growing as more people arrived each day. It had a school, a church and shops, but "no trees for climbing or shade, no trees for fruit or birds or beauty." A variety of fifteen trees were sent for, but when the small saplings finally arrived, they seemed too little for young Katie. Her father assured her that they would grow. The trees were carefully planted near the church and in the schoolyard. In a quiet corner of the town square, Katie and her Pa planted a dogwood in memory of Mama. When all the trees were planted, the townsfolk picnicked and danced under the stars. Katie suggested they do it "again next year." They did—and we do every year, too. Each Arbor Day in this country and many countries of the world, trees are celebrated for the joy they bring kids climbing them, the shade they provide, the fruit they bear, the birds they shelter, and their beauty. The origin of Arbor Day is simply told in this charming story. Warm colored pencil-and-watercolor illustrations evoke a simpler time, bringing to life a small prairie town and its growth into a thriving community of close friends. The final spread shows those now-mature trees still providing shade and beauty today. Katie's youthful enthusiasm for the project and her initial skepticism at the diminutive size of the trees rings true. The quiet moment she and her Pa share planting a memorial tree could serve as a discussion starter about the hardships of prairie life. This is a fine addition for units about Arbor Day as well as those about Westward Expansion. Reviewer: Beverley Fahey