The Beautiful Christmas Tree by Charlotte Zolotow illustrated by Yan Nascimbene

Continuing my theme of Christmas trees from yesterday (it's day two of my twelve days of Christmas) I have just discovered this truly special book. Sadly it is out of print as it was first published in 1972 but I imagine the story by Charlotte Zolotow might be found in a Christmas anthology. My copy was illustrated by Yan Nascimbene and published in 1999.

"There once was a city street with a row of trees in front of the brownstone houses. It was a lovely street. Birds sang in the trees, people swept the stoops and sat there on hot summer nights enjoying the stars. All the houses were lived in except one. It had been empty for a long time."

Sharing this book with an Australian audience I would need to show in image of a brownstone and explain the word stoop.

The empty house is eventually bought by Mr Crockett. It is now many years later and the new elegant neighbours no longer sit on their stoops. They scoff when they see Mr Crockett cleaning his own windows. At the end of the street there is a flower shop. At the back of the shop Mr Crockett sees a "wooden pot with a wizened little tree in it. Its branches drooped and dry needles had fallen on the floor."

It is the night before Christmas. Mr Crockett buys the little malformed tree. He nurtures it inside his home sitting it beside a sunny window. When spring arrives Mr Crockett plants the little pine tree outside his home. The neighbours continue to disparage him but one boy, David, likes the way Mr Crockett is making changes to his house and the street.

A sparrow arrives to investigate the tree so the next day Mr Crockett sprinkles some crumbs near by. Mr Crockett carefully nurtures the tree through all the changes of season and over several years. More and more birds arrive - sparrows, red cardinals, grackles and even a large dove. Over time the tree grows tall and strong and Mr Crockett continues to keep his house looking beautiful even though other parts of the neighborhood are neglected. David makes friends with Mr Crockett and they enjoy sitting on the stoop and watching the birds together. David grows from a young boy into a young man and Mr Crockett grows older too.

Times goes full circle and as the story ends it is Christmas eve once more. A group of carol singers stop to sing outside the house.

"Their voices beginning so suddenly, startled the birds eating under the pine and with a fluttering of wings they flew up into the tree. At the very top the white dove lit, and the other birds with their colored feathers settled in the branches like living ornaments. The carolers' voices, low and sweet, made the birds themselves begin to sing."

I haven't seen the edition of this book illustrated by Ruth Robbins but if you can find it I'm sure it would be good to compare the way illustrators interpret a text.

I love the gentle messages in this story of patience, kindness and nurture. I also appreciate the way Mr Crockett is not influenced by or concerned about the negative comments by his neighbors. He simply gets on with growing his tree, caring for his home and making new friends.