Customer Reviews

The Choosing Tree

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I had the honor of meeting Molly Jones at a children's book festival in Aiken S.C. this month. I picked up her book and could not put it down. I was easily and quickly drawn into the story of Daniel and his brother Matthew. My heart ached for Daniel as I "watched" him grow from age 8 to age 13, without his mother, in a Shaker community, longing all the while for a "home". Yet in the end, he was faced with a very difficult decision, which he faced with the wisdom he attained over his years with the Shakers. The story is so elequently written - Molly Jones has a way with weaving her words into a picture - that I was imagining a 1-room school house in the 1800's, a barn where Daniel gently cared for the cattle, and Daniel falling to his knees in sincere prayer. A must read for children and adults. I read it in just 3 days, and wanted to read more of Molly's work.

This story about two brothers who were taken by their mother to live in a Shaker community in what is now the state of Maine, is fascinating and easily understood by young people. It will help teenagers to understand what it was like to be poor in America in the Eighteenth Century and will give them some background for understanding the role of religion in people's lives. The two boys are quite different in the way they deal with the sudden change in their lives. The story carries strong conviction in part because it is based on the diary of an actual boy who was raised in a Shaker community under similar circumstances. A good book for any kid to have on his shelf!