Customer Reviews

The Jesse Tree

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Much of a story? Much of a story? The Bible wasn't written to entertain you, you know!" So says Mr. Butterfield to a young boy who wanders into a church while Mr. Butterfield is at work carving a Jesse Tree in an old door. Mr. Butterfield starts off as a crotchety old carver who wants to be left alone to work, but the young boy persists in having Mr. Butterfield explain the stories and symbolism. In the telling Mr. Butterfield's heart begins to melt and he begins to look forward to that pesky boy showing up each day.

A Jesse Tree is a tree carved with all sorts of symbolic carvings that tell the story of Christ. A ram is carved to represent Isaac and the sacrifice that was provided for Abraham to kill instead of his son Isaac.

A sheaf of corn is carved on the Jesse Tree to symbolize God's faithfulness to Ruth.

Finally at the top of the tree is a star- God's brightest star- Christ is born.

The old man tells the story of each carving represented in an insightful and theologically sound and at the same time simple manner.

This is a terrific read aloud book for bedtime reading. There are great illustrations on every page.

I have several childrens advent books sitting on my shelf, all unused because we were unmotivated to complete them. Not so with The Jesse Tree. The stories are so engaging that my four kids beg me to get started with the daily reading. Even I have to force myself to stop at one and not continue the entire story in one reading! The illustrations are nice too. This book will become an heirloom in our family because we have enjoyed it so much this season, and probably for many years to come.

This story brings so much to the holiday season. It makes a GREAT advent activity. If you begin the book on the first of December or even a day or two before, you will have gone through the Bible from the Old Testament until the birth of Jesus by the time Christmas Day arrives. There are also art activities available to do with each story presented in the book so that your child can make a Jesse Tree, too. It makes a great gift.

The Jesse Tree, written by Geraldine McCaughrean and illustrated by Bee Willey, is a collection of Bible stories, starting with the Creation story and ending with the story of the Three Wise Men.

But it is much more than just that. In the Introduction of the book, the author explains what a Jesse Tree is. For those who don't know (and I didn't know until I read the book), a Jesse Tree is a term given to a depiction of Jesus' family tree, a piece of art fashioned from wood, stone or stained glass. Pictures of fish, angels, clothes, etc., were used in the art, to remind viewers of the stories of the Bible. The Jesse Trees were most often found in churches. The name came from this Bible verse [Isaiah 11:1]: "And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall be fruitful," which foretold of the birth of Jesus. The stories of the Jesse Tree were often retold during the Advent season.

As mentioned, The Jesse Tree is a collection of Bible stories. But, the stories are told in a unique way. The first story isn't from the Bible, it's the story of a young man watching an old carpenter carve a Jesse Tree in a church. The carpenter wants to be alone to work in peace and quiet. Of course, the young boy is a distraction for him. After the carpenter explains to the boy, in the first story, what a Jesse Tree is, the rest of the stories, all of them Bible stories (except for the last one), are told by the carpenter as he works and the young boy listens - and frequently interrupts with questions and comments. It makes for entertaining, as well as thought-provoking, reading.

The illustrations are bright, bold and charming. They depict the many scenes from the Bible stories in the book. There are also several illustrations of both the carpenter and the young boy. A finished Jesse Tree is added at both the beginning and the end of the book.

What I Like: Everything. I especially like the way the book is set up, with an explanation of a Jesse Tree at the beginning of the book, followed by stories from the Bible. I also like the characters of the carpenter and the young boy. They develop a unique relationship as the book progresses.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Christine M. Irvin - Christian Children's Book Review

I purchased this book several years ago and we have used it every day during Advent since then. The underlying story line is nice but the best feature is that it presents the Old Testament stories leading up to their fulfillment in the New Testament in a very accessible and engaging manner for children. We use it in conjunction with an actual Jesse Tree and we hang an ornament that we have made ourselves after each daily story.

I used this to help plan our Sunday School study of the Jesse tree during Advent. It is such a nicely told story. It helped me make connections within the stories.

For many reasons, we were unable to use our traditional Jesse Tree this year at Advent. We made up for that by reading this book. It is a wonderful, engaging tale of Jesus' family tree. A Jesse Tree is a great tool to help children (of all ages!) remember short bits of Salvation history. We willbe rereading this one every year and making part of our family's traditions.

So far this will be the only 3 star review. I expected this book to be something it's not, hence the OK. It's wonderfully illustrated. The pictures are engaging, I really enjoyed them. The banter between the young boy and the old man I found delightful. However, since I was expecting something a little more "Biblical" and not an "artists rendition" of Bible stories, I find it safe to say I was disappointed. Now every artist, illustrator, etc. has the right to put their own spin on their own work. That's what makes art ART. I understand this. All I'm saying is this is more of a story book, and not an Jesse Tree devotional, which is what I expected.

I did stop a few times to point out some discrepancies to my son while we read this. I also explained to him that story tellers write books to tell stories, and that's fine. So, if anyone is reading this, I could right my own story here on the historical inaccurate tidbits. I'll not be so unbending to do that.

Three stars for this book, no more, no less. Again, it's richly colored, and a nice 'story'. I can't imagine using this as a replacement for a devotional Advent book, or a Jesse Tree countdown to Christmas. We do both, but I wouldn't use this book for either. This book will make a delightful gift to someone else.

This is a great book because it is a short read for small children. My kids and I will be reading from this book each day of December to learn the history and stories of the Jesse Tree and then we will be adding a symbolic handmade ornament to our own Jesse Tree. I took all the Jesse Tree symbols in this book and created my own ornaments to use daily with my kids. I have pictures and a tutorial for the ornaments at my blog: [...] We would love for lots of people to follow along with us! You will love using this book and making the ornaments with your children for a teachable moment and years of memories.

This book is awesome! I discovered it this year, after deciding my kids are big enough to get into a Jesse tree. We tried to read one story per day all the way through Advent (and add one ornament to our tree) but each day the kids (ages 8 and 5) begged for more than one story. We got through it in two weeks and this was skipping a few days. The writing is brilliant, the art is gorgeous and the story that frames these wonderful biblical accounts is so good. We loved the relationship between the carpenter and the boy. I got a little choked up at the end. This is an award winning author and it is clear why. Buy this book. You will treasure it for a long time.