Tess's Tree

Tess's Tree is a special little book that speaks to all of us who have ever lost something or someone we loved. It's especially well suited for helping a young child come to terms with death for the first time without having to face - with all the implications it involves - the deaths of individuals such as family members, friends, or the child himself/herself. It's a beautiful story to share with your child because it says so much in so few words and illustrations. Tess loves her tree. From her window, she watches it change with the seasons, and she has spent many happy hours swinging from the tree, playing in patches of its fallen leaves, etc. She is therefore devastated when the tree must be cut down after an act of Mother Nature. Naturally, her first reaction is anger, and she takes that anger out on everyone and everything around her. In time, though, she comes to reflect more on what her tree meant to her, and that is when she decides to have a funeral for the tree. The whole neighborhood is invited to the service, and the end result is that Tess discovers a great sense of community and comes to realize how important her tree has been in the lives of others, some of whom she never even knew. Tess' tree was not really her tree at all, and the grief she feels for its loss is not hers to bear alone. That is a very comforting message, and it is delivered beautifully and simply in this wonderful little book.

Reviewed by Grace (age 5) and Ella (age 4) Gleichner and Dad for Reader Views (11/09) "Tess's Tree" is the story of a young girl, Tess, and the very beautiful but very old tree in her yard. Tess loves the tree. She swings in it and sits under it; she even plays in the leaves that fall every autumn. Grace: "I love trees and tree swings! I can't wait until I am old enough to climb in them!" Ella: " I don't think I'll climb in them because I could fall. But, I love the leaves and all the colors they change. Except Christmas trees, their leaves don't change color at all." One night the wind from a fierce storm breaks some of the bigger branches off and her parents make the decision to have the tree taken down. Ella: "It got a boo boo. Why do they have to cut the tree down?" What follows is Tess experiencing the stages of grieving that any person, young or old, would have when faced with the loss of a loved one. At first Tess didn't want to believe that her tree was going to be taken down. Then there is anger, sadness, and finally acceptance. With the help of her parents, Tess is able to channel all the energy associated with these feelings into a very thoughtful and touching way to say goodbye to a friend. Tess also begins to understand that she had shared the tree's life with others who were also sad to see it removed. Together they could celebrate its life and share memories that they all had. I loved this book! Loss is such an inescapable part of life and so difficult to deal with, especially for children. To be able to show kids that those feelings are very normal and can be used in a positive way was extremely clever. My daughters didn't quite grasp the idea about loss or losing something or someone you love. While I envy them, they will be faced with loss some time in their future and I believe a book like this could be an important part of helping them work through it. "Tess's Tree" by Jess Brallier was beautifully illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. I felt the pictures really helped tie the story together. Although the book is recommended for ages 4-7, I feel even older children could benefit from the message and lessons of this book.

I am a father, grandfather and great grandfather, and dealing with the D word with children has always been a bit problematic. I recently bought a book for the g-grandson for a little later that deals directly with the passing of an elderly relative, and though it is good it is probably a little too direct for a child below seven years. So I was very happy to see Tess's Tree deal with this subject "on the bias", as it were. Love, positive experiences, decline and loss and memory are dealt with very cleverly and satisfyingly through the tree that Tess so loves and enjoys. It is an admirable feat, one that I have been able to read to my 39 month old great grandson who really got it. He was sad with Tess, grieved with her, went through a period of recollection, and came to an understanding of the finiteness of a beloved tree and its place in the life of many. This is clearly a life lesson devoid of cudgel, affectionately parsed, beautifully illustrated, doing its job in preparing kids for the nature of life. Bravo

While we want to protect our young children from grief, we need to find ways to help them deal with losing something or someone they love. Tess's Tree is a wonderful, beautiful new book that does just this is a sweet, gentle way. Tess loved her tree with all her heart. She looked out at her tree from her bedroom window. She swung its sturdy branches and read stories in its shade. But after losing branches in a big storm, the tree had to be cut down. Oh, how Tess was angry. Sad. Despondent. She cried for a long time, but then she decided to have a funeral for her tree - to celebrate the life of her tree. Brallier was inspired to write this story after a friend's daughter held a funeral for a tree. "I think it's difficult for kids to deal with loss," he says. "It can be scary and lonely. They watch trusted adults being sad. I thought a tree was a softer way to explore that." (Publisher's Weekly) Reynold's illustrations are perfect - bringing out all of Tess's emotions. I also love the multicultural community that she lives in - it helps us see ourselves in her story. This is a truly gentle book - it's one that will help children feel connected to the earth around us, and to people, pets and things they love. My daughters have really liked Tess's Tree. My 5 year old listened with complete attention, with little smiles, frowns and sighs at the happy and sad places. The feelings came through so well in this book. My 8 year old said, "It's such a sweet book. But sad, too. It makes me think of Grandpa." She went on to talk about how she wished she could have gone to her grandfather's funeral (it was too far away) so she could have met some of the people who knew him when he was younger. It was a very touching moment, to have her recall her grandfather. His passing had a huge impact on her. An interesting back story to this book: Tess's Tree started as an on-line book on the website FunBrain. You can now read the whole book online at the FunBrain site. Peter Reynold's company Fablevision created a TeleFable (FableVision's signature on-line book format). If you like reading books online, check out their site - they have great stuff!