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The Christmas Tree
The Christmas Tree
is the tale of a little girl named Anna, who is orphaned and sent to live in a convent. The lonely girl befriends, as only a child can, a tiny fir tree. Anna and Tree, as she calls him, grow up together, unlocking the secrets of friendship and sharing the wonders of nature. It is this same profound appreciation and love of nature that the grown-up Anna, now Sister Anthony, passes on to her students.
When Tree is threatened by a winter storm, Sister Anthony, by now an old woman, decides to give up her dearest friend, allowing him to become the most enjoyed and famous tree of all: the tree at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
A perennial holiday favorite, The Christmas Tree is about learning to love and, ultimately, being able to share that love with others.
118 pages, Hardcover
First published December 12, 1991
54 people are currently reading
2174 people want to read
About the author
Julie Salamon
19 books93 followersJulie Salamon has written thirteen books in many genres, including Unlikely Friends, an Audible Original released summer 2021. Her new children's book One More Story, Tata, illustrated by Jill Weber, was published by Astra's Minerva imprint in July 2024. She is working on a nonfiction book for Ann Godoff at The Penguin Press, that involves the crisis of urban homelessness and its intersection with history. Julie's other books include New York Times bestsellers Wendy and the Lost Boys and The Christmas Tree (illustrated by Jill Weber) as well as Hospital, The Devil’s Candy, Facing the Wind , The Net of Dreams , Innocent Bystander and Rambam’s Ladder. She has written two children's books, Mutt's Promise, and Cat in the City, also illustrated by Jill Weber. Julie was a reporter and then the film critic for The Wall Street Journal and then a television critic and reporter on the staff of the New York Times. Julie is a graduate of Tufts University and New York University School of Law. She is chair of the BRC, a social services organization in New York City that provides care for people who are homeless and may suffer from addiction or mental disease.. Born in Cincinnati and raised in Seaman, Ohio, a rural town of 800; in 2008 she was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame. New York City has long been home; she lives in downtown Manhattan with her husband Bill Abrams, executive director of Trickle Up. They have two children, Roxie and Eli, and a dog named Frankie, most recent in a long line of feline and canine friends.
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December 25, 2024
“Truly I say: The person who LOSES their self will FIND their self.”
You know, one thing we can’t stand to consider is losing our head - our power of rational thought. That would be awful!
Yet many folks my age are slowly doing just that. It’s tough being like that. But isn’t that something like was intended in that familiar saying? For...
To go to a place you do not know
You must by a way in which there is no comfort...
And what you do not know
Is the only thing you do know
So T.S. Eliot. And so Sister Anthony in this wonderful story...
She was left in a convent after her Dad died, and a LOT of the nuns’ aspirations seem to have rubbed off on her. Something more vital seems to be missing from her life.
Her life has not been “normal” in the worldly sense.
And isn’t that the original Hebrew meaning of “holy” - to be “set apart?”
As Augustine said after he had seen the endless corruption of the world at close quarters, everything came down to just two choices for him. The world... or God.
Inadvertently, Sister Anthony has refused the World. So, naturally, she feels lonely!
Cause she has too little faith? Like, faith in natural Miracles?
What faith she has has never been put to the test. But now she must face that test.
And give up Everything!
This was the most touching work of Christmas fiction I’ve EVER READ!
I was misty-eyed like a kid at the end. It was THAT good...
And the BEST gifts come in SMALL PACKAGES.
***
Here’s the whole lead-in to the main story:
Sister Anthony, the protagonist, has had a hard childhood.
Real hard.
When her loving father passed away in those early years, she was left alone in the world.
But her aunt knew a group of nuns in New Jersey, close to the child’s Manhattan home, who loved kids, and nurtured their souls.
So the child joins this cloistered family, a stranger to their ritual and their way of life.
BUT her loneliness just deepens.
Until she meets TREE.
Then, a MIRACLE happens. And this one changes her life. For a while...
Her life blossoms, and she finds a natural love, and plenty in common to laugh about with the kids who come to the convent!
Cause she’s found her real self.
But ONLY -
As long as she has TREE.
She needs to lose everything to FIND it all restored miraculously... all of this through selflessly SHARING it!
So when a sensitive stranger from NYC (is that POSSIBLE? Believe it!) wants to revoke her contentment with Tree, she has to make a decision...
And THAT’s just the beginning.
Who is this guy? Does he know what Christmas REALLY is - better than she does?
No spoilers, friends...
It won’t take you very long to read it.
But if you do, it’ll MAKE ALL YOUR FUTURE CHRISTMAS MEMORIES TRULY BRIGHT!
And it may restore your HEART and SOUL -
Just as it restored Sister Anthony’s Heart and Soul -
JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!
You know, one thing we can’t stand to consider is losing our head - our power of rational thought. That would be awful!
Yet many folks my age are slowly doing just that. It’s tough being like that. But isn’t that something like was intended in that familiar saying? For...
To go to a place you do not know
You must by a way in which there is no comfort...
And what you do not know
Is the only thing you do know
So T.S. Eliot. And so Sister Anthony in this wonderful story...
She was left in a convent after her Dad died, and a LOT of the nuns’ aspirations seem to have rubbed off on her. Something more vital seems to be missing from her life.
Her life has not been “normal” in the worldly sense.
And isn’t that the original Hebrew meaning of “holy” - to be “set apart?”
As Augustine said after he had seen the endless corruption of the world at close quarters, everything came down to just two choices for him. The world... or God.
Inadvertently, Sister Anthony has refused the World. So, naturally, she feels lonely!
Cause she has too little faith? Like, faith in natural Miracles?
What faith she has has never been put to the test. But now she must face that test.
And give up Everything!
This was the most touching work of Christmas fiction I’ve EVER READ!
I was misty-eyed like a kid at the end. It was THAT good...
And the BEST gifts come in SMALL PACKAGES.
***
Here’s the whole lead-in to the main story:
Sister Anthony, the protagonist, has had a hard childhood.
Real hard.
When her loving father passed away in those early years, she was left alone in the world.
But her aunt knew a group of nuns in New Jersey, close to the child’s Manhattan home, who loved kids, and nurtured their souls.
So the child joins this cloistered family, a stranger to their ritual and their way of life.
BUT her loneliness just deepens.
Until she meets TREE.
Then, a MIRACLE happens. And this one changes her life. For a while...
Her life blossoms, and she finds a natural love, and plenty in common to laugh about with the kids who come to the convent!
Cause she’s found her real self.
But ONLY -
As long as she has TREE.
She needs to lose everything to FIND it all restored miraculously... all of this through selflessly SHARING it!
So when a sensitive stranger from NYC (is that POSSIBLE? Believe it!) wants to revoke her contentment with Tree, she has to make a decision...
And THAT’s just the beginning.
Who is this guy? Does he know what Christmas REALLY is - better than she does?
No spoilers, friends...
It won’t take you very long to read it.
But if you do, it’ll MAKE ALL YOUR FUTURE CHRISTMAS MEMORIES TRULY BRIGHT!
And it may restore your HEART and SOUL -
Just as it restored Sister Anthony’s Heart and Soul -
JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!
January 4, 2017
Klein boekje(hardcover) met prachtige illustraties! Een lief kerstverhaal over liefde voor de natuur en de liefde van het weesmeisje Anna voor Boom. De kracht van haar liefde voor Boom als deze sterft, de kracht om deze liefde te delen met de rest van de wereld. Boom wordt als kerstboom geplaatst op Rockefeller Center in New York zodat iedereen van hem kan houden!!
December 11, 2021
I'm not a sentimental man, but when I saw her standing there, under the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, I started to cry.
My second reading of this book made for a richer experience. The cover art beautifully depicts Tree with Sister Anthony and the other nuns from Brush Creek convent. Our narrator is the Chief Gardener for Rockefeller Center. Each year one of his most momentous tasks is finding the tree for the Christmas display. He is partial to the Norway Spruce and spots one from a helicopter while out scouting for a tree candidate. His first visit to the convent and meeting Sister Anthony (and Tree) is the beginning of a relationship that goes on for years. Along the way we learn more about Sister Anthony's story and her attachment to Tree. Our narrator learns to view his life work in a new light thanks to Tree and Sister Anthony. Perhaps he has been missing the beauty in his work and the joy it brings to others. Light up your holiday season and pick up this charming little book. The illustrations by Jill Weber are a perfect complement to the heartwarming story. Another book I love that features the Rockefeller Center tree is The Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree
My second reading of this book made for a richer experience. The cover art beautifully depicts Tree with Sister Anthony and the other nuns from Brush Creek convent. Our narrator is the Chief Gardener for Rockefeller Center. Each year one of his most momentous tasks is finding the tree for the Christmas display. He is partial to the Norway Spruce and spots one from a helicopter while out scouting for a tree candidate. His first visit to the convent and meeting Sister Anthony (and Tree) is the beginning of a relationship that goes on for years. Along the way we learn more about Sister Anthony's story and her attachment to Tree. Our narrator learns to view his life work in a new light thanks to Tree and Sister Anthony. Perhaps he has been missing the beauty in his work and the joy it brings to others. Light up your holiday season and pick up this charming little book. The illustrations by Jill Weber are a perfect complement to the heartwarming story. Another book I love that features the Rockefeller Center tree is The Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree
December 1, 2019
In less than a week, the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place, and I think I will always think of that ceremony from a different mindset after reading The Christmas Tree. As this begins as a tale of the Rockefeller Center’s gardener, who is responsible for finding the perfect tree every year, searching the land for the perfect tree, a search that begins, more or less, as soon as they have chosen the former year’s tree. A never-ending quest.
As this story begins, flying over New Jersey, he catches a glimpse of a Norweigian Spruce that, at least from the air, appears to be perfection. The helicopter pilot recognizes the land as part of a convent, and soon after visits Sister Anthony, in an effort to convince her that having this tree as the next official Christmas Tree for Rockefeller Center would be, should be, something which pleases her. But this is a tree she has known almost all of her life, as an orphan, as long as she’s been living at the convent and the tree was little more than a sapling.
Over time we learn her story, and the story of what this tree means not only to her, but to all those whose lives she touches, as well.
”Now matter how much fun I had on my own, my adventures always felt the truest when I turned them into stories for Tree.”
There’s something about the majesty of a towering tree that reminds me that this world we live in, and on, is filled with splendid, humble things, people, living things. A lovely read as Christmas approaches, which (despite the company of nuns) is not overly religious in tone, but is all about the love, and sometimes, as someone(s) very famous, in a time now that seems so very long ago said ”All You Need is Love.”
As this story begins, flying over New Jersey, he catches a glimpse of a Norweigian Spruce that, at least from the air, appears to be perfection. The helicopter pilot recognizes the land as part of a convent, and soon after visits Sister Anthony, in an effort to convince her that having this tree as the next official Christmas Tree for Rockefeller Center would be, should be, something which pleases her. But this is a tree she has known almost all of her life, as an orphan, as long as she’s been living at the convent and the tree was little more than a sapling.
Over time we learn her story, and the story of what this tree means not only to her, but to all those whose lives she touches, as well.
”Now matter how much fun I had on my own, my adventures always felt the truest when I turned them into stories for Tree.”
There’s something about the majesty of a towering tree that reminds me that this world we live in, and on, is filled with splendid, humble things, people, living things. A lovely read as Christmas approaches, which (despite the company of nuns) is not overly religious in tone, but is all about the love, and sometimes, as someone(s) very famous, in a time now that seems so very long ago said ”All You Need is Love.”
February 2, 2019
Cute little story
December 12, 2020
Okay, those who don’t believe in cutting down the most beautiful tree there is, should not read this book, and those who don’t wish to listen to my putting this book down will not wish to read my review. I read this book because the nun in this story had a special relationship with this tree but not special enough that she would not allowed it to be cut down for the tree at New York’s Rockefeller SCenter. Now, don’t think that I am giving the story away, because this was indicated at the beginning of the book.
It begins like this: Anna became an orphan and was shuffled around until she came to a wonderful, beautiful convent in the woods where she stayed and decided to become a nun. During her first days at the convernt she ran into the woods and found a tree that was as tall as she. She spent her days talking to the tree, telling it her problems and reading to it. Many years later when she was old, a man stopped by to look at the tree and wished it to be taken to Rockefeller Center.
Rockefeller Center should grow its own tree. Just find a good one in the woods and dig it up. This can be done and has been done if the tree is not too large. People can enjoy watching it grow every year.
It begins like this: Anna became an orphan and was shuffled around until she came to a wonderful, beautiful convent in the woods where she stayed and decided to become a nun. During her first days at the convernt she ran into the woods and found a tree that was as tall as she. She spent her days talking to the tree, telling it her problems and reading to it. Many years later when she was old, a man stopped by to look at the tree and wished it to be taken to Rockefeller Center.
Rockefeller Center should grow its own tree. Just find a good one in the woods and dig it up. This can be done and has been done if the tree is not too large. People can enjoy watching it grow every year.
December 6, 2020
In 2010, my husband and I went to New York in the month of December. We both always wanted to experience the excitement and beauty of New York pre Christmas. Of course, going to Rockefeller Centre and seeing the Christmas tree all lit up was one of the highlights.
This book revolves around that tree and how much goes into picking the perfect tree. It is also about Sister Anthony’s special bond to the tree, that has been her friend since childhood. That bond definitely reminded me of The Giving Tree- one of my favourite children’s books.
It was a lovely touching book that helped put me in a Christmas state of mind.
Thanks, Cheri, for bringing this book to my attention.
This book revolves around that tree and how much goes into picking the perfect tree. It is also about Sister Anthony’s special bond to the tree, that has been her friend since childhood. That bond definitely reminded me of The Giving Tree- one of my favourite children’s books.
It was a lovely touching book that helped put me in a Christmas state of mind.
Thanks, Cheri, for bringing this book to my attention.
December 8, 2018
Perfect little gem about the man who has to find the Christmas tree for Rockefeller Center every year and his memorable encounter with a sweet little nun and her Tree. I know I have read it before, because the story came back to me, but it was pre-GRs and there was no card on it.
Highly recommended for your annual Christmas reading.
Highly recommended for your annual Christmas reading.
December 19, 2018
What a delightful little book. I saw a friend's review on this and thought I'd check it out: I'm so glad I did! Very timely read. It's a lovely story about an orphaned girl, Anna, who in her loneliness befriends a tree. As she grows up in a convent, she becomes very attached to 'Tree'. The narration goes back and forth between a horticulturist who is searching for a Christmas tree for the Rockefeller center and comes upon 'Tree' on the grounds of the convent, and the now grown girl who is Sr. Anthony, a nun. Charming details, and lovely illustrations. The edition I got from the library was a small one, so the pictures were very small. I wish the book were bigger in size, so I could appreciate the drawings more. Other than that, this was a wonderful book to read. Short too, can be read in a day's time.
December 18, 2014
This is such a wonderful and endearing Christmas story about friendship, love, and the reluctance to accept change. I was totally not expecting to love it as much as I did.
This sweet little novella focuses on our unnamed narrator who is the chief gardner at Rockefeller Center. His primary job in the non-Christmas season is to search the countryside for the perfect tree to light up Rockefeller Center at Christmas. One day he happens to find the PERFECT tree in a wooded grove in New Jersey. Upon discovering that the tree is located on the premises of an old convent, he decides to visit the nuns to see if they would be willing to donate their tree to New York City. When he arrives at the convent, he meets an older nun named Sister Anthony who has forged an incredible bond with the tree ever since it was a sapling. The gardner and Sister Anthony become friends, and her story of her beginnings, how she came to be a nun, and how she came to forge this special and unbreakable bond with the Norwegian spruce she fondly calls Tree.
Change is really scary, but change can also be good. It brings new life, new chapters, new beginnings, new hope. Second chances, new memories. This little book made me realize how hard it is to let go of something or someone you love, but sometimes letting go has to happen in order to grow, and in order to let the other person grow. I don't care for one bit that this was a sentimental, cozy, little holiday read. It was a real treat and brought such a light to a holiday that can become so bogged down with tedious things like shopping, gift wrapping, and other crazy holiday woes. It taught me to embrace each day and find the treasures in the season instead of the pressures. Thank you to my book club for forcing me into it.
This sweet little novella focuses on our unnamed narrator who is the chief gardner at Rockefeller Center. His primary job in the non-Christmas season is to search the countryside for the perfect tree to light up Rockefeller Center at Christmas. One day he happens to find the PERFECT tree in a wooded grove in New Jersey. Upon discovering that the tree is located on the premises of an old convent, he decides to visit the nuns to see if they would be willing to donate their tree to New York City. When he arrives at the convent, he meets an older nun named Sister Anthony who has forged an incredible bond with the tree ever since it was a sapling. The gardner and Sister Anthony become friends, and her story of her beginnings, how she came to be a nun, and how she came to forge this special and unbreakable bond with the Norwegian spruce she fondly calls Tree.
Change is really scary, but change can also be good. It brings new life, new chapters, new beginnings, new hope. Second chances, new memories. This little book made me realize how hard it is to let go of something or someone you love, but sometimes letting go has to happen in order to grow, and in order to let the other person grow. I don't care for one bit that this was a sentimental, cozy, little holiday read. It was a real treat and brought such a light to a holiday that can become so bogged down with tedious things like shopping, gift wrapping, and other crazy holiday woes. It taught me to embrace each day and find the treasures in the season instead of the pressures. Thank you to my book club for forcing me into it.
January 29, 2021
JULIE SALAMON. KALĖDŲ EGLUTĖ.
Smarkiai vėluoju aptarti Kalėdų tematika perskaitytas knygas, bet su įkvėpimu nepakovosi. Juk visi žinom, kad jo nesant kova jau pralaimėta.
Trumpa ir labai netikėta knyga. Senokai išleista, tačiau puikiai galinti atspindėti švenčių dvasią ir dabar. Užkrėsti paprastumu, gerumu, nuoširdumu ir šventiškumu.
Pasakojimas apie eglę. Apie kiekvienais metais Niujorke statomą eglę, kurios paieškos prasideda dar gerokas pusmetis iki pagrindinės metų šventės. Žmogus, kuris dalinasi šia istorija, atsakingas ją surasti. Vienais metais randa ją vienuolynui priklausančiame plote. Ir tuomet … prasideda.
Tikiu, kad tokia knyga turėtų pereiti iš rankų į rankas. Perskaičiau pats, dabar eilė perskaityti kažkam kitam. Kelių akimirkų istorija su pabaiga, nuo kurios ašaros smaugs gerklę ir jausies apsėstas gerumu. Net neabejoju, kad susimąstysim apie gamtą, gerus darbus, suprantingumą. Paprasta, bet itin paveiki istorija.
Rekomenduoju. Pasitaikys po ranka, čiupkit. Perskaitykite sau, perskaitykite drauge su vaikais, o po to perduokite, pasidalinkite su kitais. Ji, beje, ir negausiai iliustruota.
Smarkiai vėluoju aptarti Kalėdų tematika perskaitytas knygas, bet su įkvėpimu nepakovosi. Juk visi žinom, kad jo nesant kova jau pralaimėta.
Trumpa ir labai netikėta knyga. Senokai išleista, tačiau puikiai galinti atspindėti švenčių dvasią ir dabar. Užkrėsti paprastumu, gerumu, nuoširdumu ir šventiškumu.
Pasakojimas apie eglę. Apie kiekvienais metais Niujorke statomą eglę, kurios paieškos prasideda dar gerokas pusmetis iki pagrindinės metų šventės. Žmogus, kuris dalinasi šia istorija, atsakingas ją surasti. Vienais metais randa ją vienuolynui priklausančiame plote. Ir tuomet … prasideda.
Tikiu, kad tokia knyga turėtų pereiti iš rankų į rankas. Perskaičiau pats, dabar eilė perskaityti kažkam kitam. Kelių akimirkų istorija su pabaiga, nuo kurios ašaros smaugs gerklę ir jausies apsėstas gerumu. Net neabejoju, kad susimąstysim apie gamtą, gerus darbus, suprantingumą. Paprasta, bet itin paveiki istorija.
Rekomenduoju. Pasitaikys po ranka, čiupkit. Perskaitykite sau, perskaitykite drauge su vaikais, o po to perduokite, pasidalinkite su kitais. Ji, beje, ir negausiai iliustruota.
December 25, 2024
This was a lovely story that had me in tears through most of it. I really do need to plan a trip to NYC in December to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.
December 25, 2011
This is a book I want to read each Christmas season. It is The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon. I first found out about this book after having seen the movie years ago while visiting my mother. My aunt had taped it for me to see. I just had to read the book and found it at a bargain price at the bookshop. This little hardback book is charming not only for its story but also for the little illustrations.
Sister Anthony and Tree have been friends since she was a little girl so when she is approached about giving the tree to be used in New York City at Rockefeller Center, she has much to consider. The chief gardener of the Center befriends Sister Anthony and learns what is so special about Tree but also finds his life changed by the nun's stories in a way he had never expected.
This Christmas story never grows old to me as I enjoy it each new holiday season...
Sister Anthony and Tree have been friends since she was a little girl so when she is approached about giving the tree to be used in New York City at Rockefeller Center, she has much to consider. The chief gardener of the Center befriends Sister Anthony and learns what is so special about Tree but also finds his life changed by the nun's stories in a way he had never expected.
This Christmas story never grows old to me as I enjoy it each new holiday season...
November 22, 2017
I’ll go with three stars.
I just don’t know what I think about this story.
A nun has this unusual, sixty year relationship with a Norway Spruce she calls, Tree.
It’s sad and heartwarming sprinkled with a little creepy.
I just don’t know what I think about this story.
A nun has this unusual, sixty year relationship with a Norway Spruce she calls, Tree.
It’s sad and heartwarming sprinkled with a little creepy.
Read
January 6, 2024Such a sweet little book! I feel very attached to our little Christmas tree this year, so this was a perfect year to read a sentimental book about Christmas trees.
November 27, 2018
This little book really moved me. What a tender, loving story. A quick read that warmed my heart. Great for the Christmas season.
December 19, 2020
"I could once again look out of the window and not be afraid to ask: "What lies out there for me today?""
This was a lovely little novella. But althought I enjoyed it in general, I can't give it full five stars, because I didn't like the ending and sacrificing Tree. (I hope it's not a spoiler, since it's all in the book description!)
I really loved Anna's story and truly adored the setting - especially in the Brush Creek. Reading the story from the point of view of the gardener in the Rockefeller City in New York was also interesting. Because we get flashbacks from Sister Anthony's life and her friendship with the Norway spruce tree, the story sometimes feels almost like a fairytale. However, like I mentioned I didn't like the ending and didn't quite feel the importance of it (perhaps because I'm not familiar with the celebrations in New York or my own beliefs about cutting trees).
Overall, I'm glad that I read it because it had a warm, holiday atmosphere.
This was a lovely little novella. But althought I enjoyed it in general, I can't give it full five stars, because I didn't like the ending and sacrificing Tree. (I hope it's not a spoiler, since it's all in the book description!)
I really loved Anna's story and truly adored the setting - especially in the Brush Creek. Reading the story from the point of view of the gardener in the Rockefeller City in New York was also interesting. Because we get flashbacks from Sister Anthony's life and her friendship with the Norway spruce tree, the story sometimes feels almost like a fairytale. However, like I mentioned I didn't like the ending and didn't quite feel the importance of it (perhaps because I'm not familiar with the celebrations in New York or my own beliefs about cutting trees).
Overall, I'm glad that I read it because it had a warm, holiday atmosphere.
December 3, 2020
Fun to read
December 16, 2020
A nice heartwarming story.
January 14, 2019
To my surprise and joy, The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon turned out to be a wonderful Christmas story for tiny tots and older folks alike.
Sight unseen, I was expecting a Children’s Picture-Book – equal weightings story and illustrations. While the illustrations in The Christmas Tree are delightful there is only 1 illustration about every 6 pages or 20 pictures in a 118 page book. In addition, the illustrations are only 1/6 or 1/3 of the page at most. However, Julie Webber’s uses a lot of colour for impact and the tiny illustrations pack a lot of punch. They definitely add to the story and give us a sense for the time and place where the story takes place. I would say however that this is not a Picture-Book per se but rather a wonderful holiday story for all ages with pictures that enhance the story but do not share equal weighting with the author’s words as most Picture-Books do.
I was definitely not disappointed with The Christmas Tree. It is a delightful story of Anna, orphaned at 5 years of age in New York City, who comes to live with some nuns – an arrangement made be her aunt, her only surviving relative is an nun and working in foreign countries a lot. The convent/manor is in the beautiful New Jersey countryside where Anna makes a new best friend – Tree, a Norway Spruce who is smaller than she is when she arrives. Tree is a wonderful confidante and throughout the years, Anna tells Tree her problems, her dreams, her joys and her stories. They grow up and old together enjoying nature and the great outdoors with its abundance of birds, flowers, other trees, the sun, the clouds and fresh air. Tree becomes a favourite spot for visitors to the convent to sit under – especially the children who come to learn about nature from Anna, now Sister Anthony, and to listen to her wonderful stories.
The story is very refreshing. Anna, even as grown up Sister Anthony, has a child like innocence and wonderful joy about her that is contagious. She comes alive on the page and I wanted to listen to her stories in person just like the children did. I could imagine her sparkling eyes and her sense of awe and wonderment.
Even the cynical chief gardener of the Rockefeller Centre in New York City who chooses the Christmas tree to be decorated and lit each year (one of the biggest live Christmas trees ever), is impacted by this wonderful nun. The chief gardener is looking for his next Christmas tree for Rockefeller Centre and visits Sister Anthony at the convent because he thinks Tree would be perfect. Sister Anthony agrees with him that Tree has the necessary “character”. This is also something I like about the book – all the trees including Tree and everything else in nature sharing the earth with Sister Anthony are talked about and discussed as if they had their own real energy and life, which of course they do. Unfortunately, people don’t often talk about non humans this way so I thought this made the book particularly special.
Sister Anthony however isn’t ready to say goodbye to Tree just yet but the gardener still keeps coming back to visit for the magical spirit and joie de vivre that Sister Anthony shares with them. Sister Anthony’s positive nature has a beneficial impact on everyone who comes in contact with her. Like all great friends, there comes a time when Tree and Sister Anthony (Anna I’m sure to Tree) must part and return to Anna’s childhood home to brighten the lives of even more people than Tree did in New Jersey.
The Christmas Tree is a story I would recommend for older children and adults alike. It is a special, touching book that I plan to read again next year. In fact this holiday season, I took the time to read it twice. I liked it that much.
Sight unseen, I was expecting a Children’s Picture-Book – equal weightings story and illustrations. While the illustrations in The Christmas Tree are delightful there is only 1 illustration about every 6 pages or 20 pictures in a 118 page book. In addition, the illustrations are only 1/6 or 1/3 of the page at most. However, Julie Webber’s uses a lot of colour for impact and the tiny illustrations pack a lot of punch. They definitely add to the story and give us a sense for the time and place where the story takes place. I would say however that this is not a Picture-Book per se but rather a wonderful holiday story for all ages with pictures that enhance the story but do not share equal weighting with the author’s words as most Picture-Books do.
I was definitely not disappointed with The Christmas Tree. It is a delightful story of Anna, orphaned at 5 years of age in New York City, who comes to live with some nuns – an arrangement made be her aunt, her only surviving relative is an nun and working in foreign countries a lot. The convent/manor is in the beautiful New Jersey countryside where Anna makes a new best friend – Tree, a Norway Spruce who is smaller than she is when she arrives. Tree is a wonderful confidante and throughout the years, Anna tells Tree her problems, her dreams, her joys and her stories. They grow up and old together enjoying nature and the great outdoors with its abundance of birds, flowers, other trees, the sun, the clouds and fresh air. Tree becomes a favourite spot for visitors to the convent to sit under – especially the children who come to learn about nature from Anna, now Sister Anthony, and to listen to her wonderful stories.
The story is very refreshing. Anna, even as grown up Sister Anthony, has a child like innocence and wonderful joy about her that is contagious. She comes alive on the page and I wanted to listen to her stories in person just like the children did. I could imagine her sparkling eyes and her sense of awe and wonderment.
Even the cynical chief gardener of the Rockefeller Centre in New York City who chooses the Christmas tree to be decorated and lit each year (one of the biggest live Christmas trees ever), is impacted by this wonderful nun. The chief gardener is looking for his next Christmas tree for Rockefeller Centre and visits Sister Anthony at the convent because he thinks Tree would be perfect. Sister Anthony agrees with him that Tree has the necessary “character”. This is also something I like about the book – all the trees including Tree and everything else in nature sharing the earth with Sister Anthony are talked about and discussed as if they had their own real energy and life, which of course they do. Unfortunately, people don’t often talk about non humans this way so I thought this made the book particularly special.
Sister Anthony however isn’t ready to say goodbye to Tree just yet but the gardener still keeps coming back to visit for the magical spirit and joie de vivre that Sister Anthony shares with them. Sister Anthony’s positive nature has a beneficial impact on everyone who comes in contact with her. Like all great friends, there comes a time when Tree and Sister Anthony (Anna I’m sure to Tree) must part and return to Anna’s childhood home to brighten the lives of even more people than Tree did in New Jersey.
The Christmas Tree is a story I would recommend for older children and adults alike. It is a special, touching book that I plan to read again next year. In fact this holiday season, I took the time to read it twice. I liked it that much.
December 14, 2019
This cute short story focuses on an unnamed narrator who is the chief gardner at Rockefeller Center. His primary job in the non-Christmas season is to search the countryside for the perfect tree to light up Rockefeller Center at Christmas. One day he happens to find the PERFECT tree in a wooded grove in New Jersey. Upon discovering that the tree is located on the premises of an old convent, he decides to visit the nuns to see if they would be willing to donate their tree to New York City. When he arrives at the convent, he meets an older nun named Sister Anthony who has forged an incredible bond with the tree ever since it was a sapling. The gardner and Sister Anthony become friends and she shares her story with him. First becoming an orphan, then how she ended up at the convent, how she came to be a nun, and how she came to forge this special and unbreakable bond with the Norwegian spruce she fondly calls Tree. Sister Anthony and Tree have been friends since she was a little girl so when she is approached about giving the tree to be used in New York City at Rockefeller Center, she turns down the request. The chief gardener of the Center befriends Sister Anthony and learns what is so special about Tree but also finds his life changed by the nun's stories in a way he had never expected. When Tree is threatened by a winter storm, Sister Anthony, by now an old woman, decides to give up her dearest friend, allowing him to become the most enjoyed and famous tree of all: the tree at Rockefeller Center in New York City. A charming story about friendship, nature and appreciating the beauty around us.
December 27, 2014
Jesse King is the man in charge of finding the Christmas tree for Rockefeller Center. He starts early so that he has plenty of time to get a back up just in case. He finds the tree he wants on the grounds of a beautiful convent. When he goes to make inquiries about the tree he is interested in, he discovers that there is one particular nun that he has to win over. Her name is Sister Anthony. Sister Anthony has a long history with the desired tree Over the span of a fee years he hears the story of how a little girl named Anna comes to live at the convent, how she came to be Sister Anthony and to find out why she has such a strong bond with "Tree".
This was a fun story to read. I really liked it.
This was a fun story to read. I really liked it.
December 20, 2011
'Tis the season to find a Christmas tree for Rockefeller Center. That is the mission of the main character in this book. He spends an entire year, just looking for the perfect tree. & once Christmas day passes, he gets to start all over again for the upcoming year.
Amidst all the trees, he finds a Norway Spruce that is absolutely perfect. Unfortunately it is the best friend of Sister Anthony, a nun at Brush Creek. After hearing her story, he decides to go about his business and leave Tree alone. Never expecting to hear from her again, he is surprised when he receives a call from Sister Anthony.
A holiday tale of Friendship, Loyalty and Love, THE CHRISTMAS TREE will leave you with a smile on your face, a tear in your eye and a warmth in your heart. =)
Amidst all the trees, he finds a Norway Spruce that is absolutely perfect. Unfortunately it is the best friend of Sister Anthony, a nun at Brush Creek. After hearing her story, he decides to go about his business and leave Tree alone. Never expecting to hear from her again, he is surprised when he receives a call from Sister Anthony.
A holiday tale of Friendship, Loyalty and Love, THE CHRISTMAS TREE will leave you with a smile on your face, a tear in your eye and a warmth in your heart. =)
December 15, 2018
A Christmas story with a totally different plot. Not much about Santa or JMJ, but trees are central to the story.
December 11, 2021
Finished this book so quickly I didn’t even have time to mark it as “currently reading”. I picked it up yesterday and could’ve finished it all in one sitting I was enjoying it so much. Such a perfect Christmas read. Only 115 pages but the sweetest story about a very special Christmas Tree. I plan to keep this book close by for when I have children or for when I have a classroom of my own, and can share this story in the month of December. Cried happy tears at the end 🥲.
November 25, 2019
This is a very quick read, and it is delightful! It's completely fictional although the story is based upon an actual event. The Brush Creek Convent in New Jersey donated a tree to the Rockefeller Center in NYC to be used for their annual Christmas Tree. That is the extent of the truth to the story. The rest of the story is about why this Tree is so beloved.
November 30, 2020
A surprisingly beautiful book that I found at the thrift store for only a dollar. The story is incredibly touching and the small illustrations truly add even more sweetness to this book. I loved it and I’ll be re-reading it every year around Christmas time. Prepare yourself for tears, but also happiness.
December 26, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this story of the Christmas tree that was picked for Rockefeller center one year. There was so much depth and attachment to this tree and I have felt this way about a big blue spruce that used to be in our yard. This is a wonderful story!!
December 22, 2018
This is a gem, when it comes to Christmas books. A lovely and touching story, unpretentious in its delivery, that I will remember for a long time.
December 13, 2021
If you need a soft spot to land in the hustle and bustle of Christmas, this book is it. A nun, a gardener, and Tree’s lives intertwine in a story about giving, friendship, hope, and beauty.
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