The Christmas Tree [Hardcover]

Julie Salamon (Author), Jill Weber (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 1996

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.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Trying not to behave like Scrooge may be a book critic's most difficult task this Christmas season. This thin holiday fable is based on a true incident, but it is saturated with sentimentality. Narrated by the unnamed, curmudgeonly chief gardener of Rockefeller Center, the tale concerns his annual search for the tree whose lighting heralds the holiday season in Manhattan. When the narrator says that he looks for a tree that has "character," whose "beauty comes from the inside and not just the outside," we know we must swallow some anthropomorphic whimsy. He discovers just such a tree on the grounds of a convent in New Jersey, but Sister Anthony, who has a special relationship with the magnificent Norway Spruce (she calls it simply Tree, and talks to it), is loath to let it be cut down. She tells the narrator the story of her life: how, as a lonely orphan child she was brought to the convent, where the tree became her only friend. When she decides to make the supreme sacrifice, her message?that we must look for beauty even when life is hard?melts the crusty old man's heart. Former Wall Street Journal reporter Saloman, who wrote such incisive books as The Devil's Candy and The Net of Dreams, seems to have overdosed on saccharine. Random House audio.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The chief gardener at Rockefeller Center dreads Christmas because one of his responsibilities is the selection of the center's giant Christmas tree, which is not an easy job. Thus, he is thrilled one spring to have found the perfect tree so early and foresees no problem in persuading the nuns who own the property on which the tree stands to let him have it. Then he meets Sister Anthony, who came to the convent as a young orphan and made a close friend of the Norway Spruce she calls "Tree." This charming little tale from the author of The Net of Dreams (Random, 1996) is a perfect choice for the holiday season.
-?Elizabeth Mary Mellett, Brookline P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1ST edition (October 8, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679452532
• ISBN-13: 978-0679452539
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #692,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic Christmas story for the whole family., December 25, 2001

By 

Denise Bentley "Kelsana" (The California Redwoods) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Christmas Tree (Hardcover)

As the chief gardener of Rockefeller Center in New York City the narrator of our story has a colossal job ahead of him each year at Christmas Days end. Another year begins and he is already scouting out possibilities for the next years most perfect tree to decorate the prestigious Center for all to take pleasure in.

It is when the perfect tree is found on the Bush Creek Convent grounds that his job gets just a little bit harder. Sister Anthony unfolds a splendid Christmas tale that will leave the reader with a story you will want to share with the whole family. I can see this book easily becoming a family tradition. Heartwarming and wonderful a 5 star Christmas tale for certain. [e-mail] 12/25/01

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Charming, Well-written and Illustrated Fictional Story, January 14, 2000

By 

B. Jean Strong (Northwest Arkansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Christmas Tree (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book which I found on our local library shelf, and intend to buy a copy for myself. It would make an excellent gift.

It is a gem. Charming, well-told story. Beautiful, pastel-colored illustrations that greatly add to the charm.

I once worked in the old Time-Life Building in Rockefeller Center, New York City, and looked down on the Christmas Tree eight years running, but I would have enjoyed this book if I had never seen the The Tree from on high and at ground level.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just the Thing, November 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Christmas Tree (Hardcover)

I am buying several of these books as Christmas presents this year. In the wake of September 11, I think a wonderful, magical story about New York City is just what we need. To believe again in beauty, magic and the gift of connection and love. It is a story about connections, relationships -- between New York City folks and their tree, Sister Anthony and the gardener, her tree, and her past. It is a wonderful (sometimes teary) story that makes us appreciate the magic that still exists in the world and is personified at its best through the wonderful Rockefeller Center Christmas tree!