The Wattle Tree

by John Bell, Ben Wood

This is the story of Molly, a little girl who helps not only herself but her mother come to terms with the loss of Gran through connecting with the wattle tree at the bottom of the garden.

Set over the course of several months, Molly makes repeated trips to the wattle tree. At first, her visits are to escape the sadness in the house as Mum is locked inside her own grief. Gradually, Molly draws strength from her visits and ultimately invites Mum to share in the experience so they can keep memories of Gran alive.

Genres: Picture Books, Death

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2012

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet story of a young Molly who can't understand why Grandma has gone away and is sad because she can't visit her on Fridays anymore. When Molly finds the wattle tree at the bottom of their garden, she discovers a happiness which reminds her of Grandma. When her Mum is sad, Molly decides to share the wattle tree with her so they can forever have happy memories of Grandma, together.

A lovely story to help children come to terms with the loss of a loved one.

[Bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Wattle Tree tells the story of Molly a young girl who loves to visit her Gran, but then her mum is sad because they can't visit Gran anymore and she doesn't want to talk about it. But Molly is a clever girl and she finds things that remind her of Gran and helps her mum to remember Gran too.

If is a great example of how sometimes kids understand things about death a lot better than adults. Complemented by beautiful illustrations this book would be helpful for explaining a similar explanation to young children.

[Vivien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful children's picture book dealing w grief, memories of Molly and her Mum's passing via a Wattle Tree on their property adjacent to a stream w lots of grandma's smell, look, colours, scone cooking, her straw hat, colours, shapes and smells remembered, treasured and celebrated.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quiet book dealing with the death of a grandparent with gentleness and grace. Recommended.

[Shallowreader VaVeros · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a story about dealing with the loss of a grandparent touched me deeply. Lovely.