The Beautiful Christmas Tree [Hardcover]

Charlotte Zolotow (Author), Yan Nascimbene (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Like Charlotte Zolotow's recently reissued The Bunny Who Found Easter, The Beautiful Christmas Tree has gently captured the true meaning of this special holiday for generations of young readers. In this timeless story Mr. Crockett teaches his snobbish neighbors that "beauty is as beauty does," when he rescues a scrawny tree. With years of loving care, the little pine grows strong, bringing songbirds and new friends to a lonely old man. The vibrant color palette and fresh compositions of Yan Nascimbene lend a modern look to a holiday staple. This new edition not only celebrates the spirit of Christmas but reaffirms our faith-almost thirty years since its first publication-in the basic goodness of people all year round.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-When a city street undergoes gentrification, its elegant residents are disdainful of unfashionable Mr. Crockett, who moves in and cleans up the smallest, least-desirable brownstone on the block. They don't approve of him washing windows; they don't approve of him planting a spindly little pine tree; they certainly think he is crazy to sprinkle bread crumbs under the tree for birds to eat. The man, however, believes that "Beauty is as beauty does," and his loving attention culminates, years later, when carolers stop by his majestic tree, startling the birds up onto the branches like living ornaments. The carolers and birds sing together "a chorus of love, and Mr. Crockett [knows] that this is what Christmas [is] meant to be." Nascimbene's watercolors generally appear opposite text, or in small boxes above or below text. A cool palette of darker colors predominates. In the initial illustrations, cars and "elegant neighbors" appear to be circa 1940; as time progresses, the story takes place in modern times. A quiet celebration of the love and care necessary for nurturing living things.-L.F.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Nascimbene tackles Zolotow's 1972 story, providing delicate pen-and-watercolor illustrations in pale blue and tan. Mr. Crockett, described by the neighbors as ``a peculiar man,'' buys the long empty brownstone, and sets about washing windows and fixing it up. He digs up the small square of soil in front, and buys a wizened little pine languishing in the flower shop. He nurtures it through the winter, and when spring comes he plants the tree, remarkably bigger and more robust, outside; as years pass it becomes a majestic pine, the glory of the neighborhood. The illustrator's vision is rather austere and remote; even when the children assemble at the tree for its finest hour, the perspective is distant. Nevertheless, the quiet story endures, as does its message. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (September 27, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395913659
• ISBN-13: 978-0395913659
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,917,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely story for children, December 18, 2008

By 

P. Mann (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beautiful Christmas Tree (Hardcover)

On a fashionable street lined with brownstones, one home is empty, too run-down for the "fashionable" people to move in. One day, Mr. Crockett moves in and, to the neighbors' astonishment, begins to clean the building himself. In front of each of the more fashionable buildings, there is a lovely tree. Mr. Crockett has none until he goes to a shop to buy a sad little tree (reminiscent of A Charlie Brown Christmas). For a year, he tends the tree carefully and pours out crumbs for the birds while neighbors look upon him with scorn and Christmas carolers pass by his house. However, as Mr. Crockett knows, "beauty is as beauty does." Adults will know the ending without my giving it away here. Children, I imagine, will enjoy the ending without seeing it coming.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars beautiful illustrations bring back an old favorite, October 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Beautiful Christmas Tree (Hardcover)

Yan Nascimbene's gentle illustrations bring a fresh new look to a story by Charlotte Zolotow that I have never tired of reading to the children in my life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Short version, May 31, 2011

By 

Kathleen "Kathleen" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Beautiful Christmas Tree (Hardcover)

This is a hacked-up version of a beautiful tale, with all the poetry and imagery chopped out. Buy an earlier version if you want to be entranced by a wonderful story.