The Listening Tree

by Celia Barker Lottridge

It's 1935, and Ellen and her mother must leave their dried up Saskatchewan farm to board with Aunt Gladys in Toronto. Intimidated by her new surroundings, Ellen chooses to hide in the branches of the large leafy tree outside her window and watch their neighborhood children playing, rather than joining in their games. But when Ellen overhears a plan to evict the family next door from their home, she must overcome her fears and warn Charlene, the oldest girl in the family. Together, the girls foil their greedy building manager's plot and "hatch" a plan to sell eggs in order to pay the family's mounting back rent.

Genres: Historical, Fiction, Canada

154 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2011

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating tween read of a young girl during the depression, forced to leave the family farm in Saskatchewan, with her Mom to live with her aunt in a boarding home in Toronto. A different life with adjustment pains.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Historical fiction
Canada

[Canadian Children's Book Centre]

On the Prairies, drought has ruined crops for four consecutive years. Ellen’s father leaves their Saskatchewan farm to seek work while Ellen and her mother move to Aunt Gladys’s boarding house in the Toronto Annex. The dramatic change in lifestyle overwhelms Ellen. Too diffident to play with the children next door she listens to them from her refuge in a large tree outside her bedroom. It is from this “Listening Tree” that Ellen overhears strangers plotting to evict her neighbours. Jolted into action, she saves the situation, simultaneously discovering her place in this new world.

Celia Barker Lottridge, storyteller and award-winning children’s author depicts the feelings of a nine-year-old child uprooted from familiar surroundings and thrust into a new world where loving adults are preoccupied with the practicalities of survival. Ellen is an empathetic character who draws upon inner resources when loneliness engulfs her and demonstrates courage and ingenuity when needed.

The reader is given a glimpse, through Ellen’s eyes, of the effect of the Great Depression on both rural and urban Canada, making the era come alive. While the essence of Toronto in that time period is not fully evoked, the hardships of the time, including the resourceful frugality required, will intrigue young readers as children raise chickens, babysit and sell scrap metal to help their families get by.

This easy-to-read early novel with its realistic heroine, direct language and well-paced plot will bring new meaning to the word “history” for young readers.

Reviewed by Aileen Wortley in Canadian Children's Book News (Spring 2011, Vol. 34, No. 2)

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good quick historical fiction about the Depression. Nothing special, but definitely one I'd feel comfortable recommending to a 3rd, 4th or 5th grader looking for historical fiction.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

SOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. AMAZING I LUUUUV IT

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming book.
http://dickenslibrary.blogspot.ca/201...

[Monika · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to learn a bit about the hardships of farmers during the drought years of Canadian history. Good story but no wow monents.

[Ashley Quigley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because they explain what happen in the "old days" and I just really enjoyed this book