The Littlest Evergreen

Henry Cole
Katherine Tegen Books (2011)
ISBN 9780061146190
Reviewed by Eli Lugo (age 5) and Mom for Reader Views (11/11)

Eli’s Comments:

“The Littlest Evergreen” is about a tree.  It grows up on a hill with other trees. It started out very small like grass but the roots grew stronger and soon it was big enough for birds to put nests on it.  When all the trees were big enough, men with chainsaws came to the hill and cut them down.  The little evergreen was too small so the men just dug it up and took it with them.  The tree was lucky because some people took it home and decorated it for Christmas.  After a while, the tree wanted to go back outside where it belonged.  The family took it in the backyard and put it in a really big hole so it could grow into the earth again.  It grew very tall.  Birds lived in it again and the family came to visit with children.

Mom’s comments:

“The Littlest Evergreen” is the first holiday book we’ve read that had a green, or “eco-friendly,” spin to it. The story is told from the vantage point of a small evergreen that is spared the chainsaw because of its petite size.  The personification adds a stirring impact to the words, as in “We trembled and swayed as the chainsaw blades cut through tree trunks like the wings of a swallow cut through air...Gloved hands grabbed hold of their wounded ends and dropped them onto the back of the truck.”  Through this first-person (first-tree?) account, the reader learns how heavy ornaments feel on branches, how hot and stuffy it is indoors, and how it feels to return to where you belong.  “The man cut the twine and bindings and lowered my roots into the coolness of the soil.  It felt soft and sweet, and I grabbed hold, never wanting to leave.”

The story lends itself to the life cycle and the fate of trees grown on holiday farms.  It takes the reader from sapling to harvesting and all the seasons in between.  My favorite line in the book describes how the summer “rain washed away the dust and it felt delicious.”  When it comes to the end of the year, most people arrive at Christmas tree lots and hover “like bees around a hive” as they inspect their options, most will choose a cut tree. But there are few families like the one in the book who will single out an intact tree decorate it for the season then return it to the earth to enjoy it for years to come.  It is an endearing read with a soft, subtle message about how our choices impact our planet. “The Littlest Evergreen” is also a wonderful comparison to our own (human) lives and how each passing season brings new experiences. 

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