Survivor Tree by Marcie Colleen and Aaron Becker - ADVISABLE

Survivor Tree by Marcie Colleen, illustrated by Aaron Becker. PICTURE BOOK. Little Brown, AUGUST 2021. $19. 9780316487672 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS, HS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

A month after the events of 9/11 a very burnt tree with just a little bit of greenery was found among the rubble. Carted off to a plant nursery, it took more than a year for the tree to recover and begin to bloom again. After almost 10 years, the survivor tree was replanted at the now memorial site, exhibiting the resilience of life of all kinds. 

I had no idea I would read two books about the 9/11 Survivor tree today. I enjoyed both of them and they both support each other. I’e read a couple of other picture books about the tree – both of those told from the tree’s point of view which I did not enjoy as much (look them up on Amazon). I am going to suggest to our creative writing teacher that she use the set of four, maybe five books as the basis of a unit – I think It’d be very informative for students to evaluate them. Enough of that – this in particular is a worthy book besides its usefulness in the classroom. Coleen handles the subject gently and lovingly, infusing hope and positivity into a brutal memory. 

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS