The Mulberry Tree by Allison Rushby

"It was more like her dad was balancing - balancing on top of a log, with his arms out, trying to keep steady. She had to hold his hand and help him to get to the other side. She knew from experience that the funny thing about balancing on logs was that most of the time you didn't even need that hand. It was enough to know it was there. Just in case."

Do naught wrong by the mulberry tree or she'll take your daughters - one, two, three

The Mulberry tree is indeed a mystery story but it also about healing and forgiveness. A small family are experiencing profound grief.  Immy's dad is a GP in Australia. He recently refused to allow an elderly man to renew his driving licence but this man, called Bob, drives on anyway and then, he is the cause of a terrible accident and a mother and baby are killed. Andrew (dad) is wracked with remorse, guilt and grief so the family of three have moved away - a long way away - to a small village in Cambridge in the hope this change can help them all heal.

After a morning spent looking at 'suitable' properties, Immy spots Lavender House. From the front it looks perfect:

"Her eyes were fixed upon a house of creamy white with the prettiest canary yellow door. Thatch coated the roof like a thick icing and the cherry on the top was a straw pigeon who strutted about on the roof as though he owned the place. The garden heaved with lavender ... "

Moving to the back garden things couldn't be more different:

"Everything was dark and drenched in shadow because of what lay to the left - a gigantic tree that loomed over the entire garden and the house itself. ... Halfway up, arm-like branches began to shoot out threateningly, dividing into stout, black fingers which poked and taunted the house cruelly. It was summer, yet the tree displayed no green. Not one leaf."

This is the mulberry tree of the title. Mystery and superstition abound. Two girls have disappeared. One, a girl called Bridget, in 1795, and the other, a girl called Elizabeth, on VE Day, 8th May, 1945. These disappearances or abductions happened on the eve of each girl's eleventh birthday. Adding to the mystery two knots appeared on the mulberry tree when the girls disappeared.  Immy will turn eleven in just a few days. Is it safe to live in this house in the shadow of this cursed tree?

It will take a determination and courage for Immy to discover the truth about the tree and about herself and these discoveries may help her father on his road to recovery. Her discoveries may even help the people in this village too.

I kept thinking I needed to know more about mulberry trees as I read this book. The tree takes on all the emotions that Immy is feeling but I wanted the family to care for the tree, to feed it, prune it, to ask an expert why it no longer bore fruit, to find out how long these trees live, does the mulberry need a partner tree to fertilize the flowers? Of course the tree itself is a metaphor but I did do some reading and discovered these mulberry tree facts:

• Mulberry trees can grow, if left alone, to 10 metres
• Mulberry trees grow in full sun
• There are four main varieties - Black English, Hick's Fancy, White Shahtoot and a variety that is  purely ornamental called the White Mulberry
• The fruit can be used in pies and preserves or just eaten straight from the tree but the fruit is fragile and the season is short so they are rarely grown commercially

I am excited to discover that this book was only released into shops 14 days ago! I will make a prediction that it will be one of the 2019 CBCA Notables and perhaps even reach the prestigious short list of six titles for our Australian award - Book of the Year Younger Readers. I think this is a book that will be enjoyed by older students who have a well developed level of emotional intelligence.

Here is a review with lots of plot details. You can also click the review quote below.  I think this book has a perfect cover by Rovina Cai. I do hope it is not changed for other markets in the US or UK. The story itself is certain to be enjoyed by readers beyond our Australian shores. Here is a link to Allison's web site.

On a personal note there was an old mulberry tree in my neighborhood but it was in a back garden. One day my friends and I decided to raid the tree for leaves because we were growing silkworms. It was clear that the home owners were absent so we crept up the side path and climbed the tree. Just as we started pulling off the leaves the family arrived home. I still tingle with the fear we all felt as we inched along high back yard fences, scrambling away, hoping not to be caught. We were safe but had dropped all those precious leaves. I wonder how we fed those poor little silkworms.

A strong, stubborn and compassionate protagonist, Immy takes charge of solving the mulberry mystery – as well as saving injured hedgehogs. As she rides the anxiety and angst that come with change and growing up, her innate empathy for others allows her to not only befriend kids in her class, but the lonely tree in her garden. The Reader The Booksellers New Zealand Blog by Rosalie Elliffe.