What do you think?
Rate this book
The Little Fir Tree
They put golden tinsel on his branches
And golden bells
And green icicles
And silver stars
And red and green and blue and purple chains of shining Christmas balls.
All alone in an empty field grew a little fir tree. It dreamed of being part of a forest-or part of anything at all. Then one winter day, a man takes the little fir tree away and it finds itself at the center of a little boy's very special celebration.
40 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
2 people are currently reading
597 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Wise Brown
393 books1,210 followersMargaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 70 years ago, her books still sell very well.
Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.
She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.
She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.
Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.
Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.
She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.
She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.
Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
December 11, 2018
Beautiful illustrations by LaMarche, the story however....was not what I was expecting. My son didn't care for it either. Could've been so much better! As a gardener and lover of nature (especially trees), the treatment of the little Fir tree in the story just grated on my nerves. I find the family's actions to be selfish, not heartwarming.
January 7, 2021
The Little Fir Tree, illustrated by Jim LaMarche.
Growing all alone in an open field, and looking with longing at the older trees in the nearby forest, a little fir finds itself temporarily uprooted in this lovely holiday tale, brought inside a nearby home and made into a Christmas tree for a little boy who is bedridden. This tradition continues each year, as the tree is replanted in its meadow home, and then relocated every Christmas. Then one day the boy's father doesn't come, and the tree feels mournful... until a Christmas procession arrives, ...
Originally published in 1954, with artwork by the celebrated Barbara Cooney, The Little Fir Tree was reprinted in this new edition in 2005, with new illustrations from Jim LaMarche. I have long wanted to read the original Cooney edition, but finding it unavailable at my library, requested this newer one instead. I found the story poignant and heartwarming, although I did find myself wondering why the tree had to be continually moved, rather than the boy. After all, the former has physical roots that are meant to keep it in place, while the latter could be bundled up against the cold and taken to see the tree, along with all of his friends. Leaving that aside, I did enjoy the story, and found the artwork absolutely gorgeous. I look forward to tracking down the Cooney original, in order to contrast and compare, but still recommend this one to picture-book readers looking for Christmas stories.
Growing all alone in an open field, and looking with longing at the older trees in the nearby forest, a little fir finds itself temporarily uprooted in this lovely holiday tale, brought inside a nearby home and made into a Christmas tree for a little boy who is bedridden. This tradition continues each year, as the tree is replanted in its meadow home, and then relocated every Christmas. Then one day the boy's father doesn't come, and the tree feels mournful... until a Christmas procession arrives, ...
Originally published in 1954, with artwork by the celebrated Barbara Cooney, The Little Fir Tree was reprinted in this new edition in 2005, with new illustrations from Jim LaMarche. I have long wanted to read the original Cooney edition, but finding it unavailable at my library, requested this newer one instead. I found the story poignant and heartwarming, although I did find myself wondering why the tree had to be continually moved, rather than the boy. After all, the former has physical roots that are meant to keep it in place, while the latter could be bundled up against the cold and taken to see the tree, along with all of his friends. Leaving that aside, I did enjoy the story, and found the artwork absolutely gorgeous. I look forward to tracking down the Cooney original, in order to contrast and compare, but still recommend this one to picture-book readers looking for Christmas stories.
December 2, 2023
The Little Fir Tree, illustrated by Barbara Cooney.
Standing alone in a field, separated from the sheltering bulk of the trees of the nearby forest, a little fir tree leads a lonely life for his first seven years, before he finds himself uprooted one holiday season, and taken into a local farmhouse to be the Christmas tree of a little boy with a lame leg. After this magical experience, the tree is replanted in the field the next spring, only to be uprooted again in winter, forming a yearly pattern that the tree comes to anticipate. Then one winter no one comes to fetch him, and the tree wonders what has become of his yearly friends. The answer comes in the form of his own Christmas visit, as the little boy—now healed!—leads his friends in a singing procession to the tree's field...
The Little Fir Tree was originally published in 1954, in this edition, with artwork by the celebrated Barbara Cooney. I have long wanted to track it down, but discovered in previous years that only the newer edition, published in 2005 with artwork from Jim LaMarche, was available at my local library. I read and enjoyed that newer edition, but kept looking for this original one as well, given my fondness for Cooney's work. I am glad that I did, as I think her simple but immensely expressive artwork is perfectly suited to the story, ably capturing both its melancholy and joyful elements. I liked the incorporation of the music for a few Christmas carols, with lyrics adapted to the events of the story (I can't recall if this was done in the LaMarche edition as well), and I appreciated the vintage style here, with the limited number of color washes—red and green predominating, of course!—and those distinctive Barbara Cooney figures. Recommended to anyone looking for lovely Christmas stories for the picture book set, as well as to fellow Cooney fans.
Standing alone in a field, separated from the sheltering bulk of the trees of the nearby forest, a little fir tree leads a lonely life for his first seven years, before he finds himself uprooted one holiday season, and taken into a local farmhouse to be the Christmas tree of a little boy with a lame leg. After this magical experience, the tree is replanted in the field the next spring, only to be uprooted again in winter, forming a yearly pattern that the tree comes to anticipate. Then one winter no one comes to fetch him, and the tree wonders what has become of his yearly friends. The answer comes in the form of his own Christmas visit, as the little boy—now healed!—leads his friends in a singing procession to the tree's field...
The Little Fir Tree was originally published in 1954, in this edition, with artwork by the celebrated Barbara Cooney. I have long wanted to track it down, but discovered in previous years that only the newer edition, published in 2005 with artwork from Jim LaMarche, was available at my local library. I read and enjoyed that newer edition, but kept looking for this original one as well, given my fondness for Cooney's work. I am glad that I did, as I think her simple but immensely expressive artwork is perfectly suited to the story, ably capturing both its melancholy and joyful elements. I liked the incorporation of the music for a few Christmas carols, with lyrics adapted to the events of the story (I can't recall if this was done in the LaMarche edition as well), and I appreciated the vintage style here, with the limited number of color washes—red and green predominating, of course!—and those distinctive Barbara Cooney figures. Recommended to anyone looking for lovely Christmas stories for the picture book set, as well as to fellow Cooney fans.
December 27, 2025
This must have been a favorite because our copy has a very worn look. Sweet story about a fir tree and a little boy who are brought together by the boy's father over a couple of Christmases. This association produces positive growth for both. Also includes music and lyrics for some favorite Christmas carols you can sing with/when you read this to your favorite little one. A sure winner!
December 28, 2009
REVIEW OF VERSION ILLUSTRATED BY BARBARA COONEY
I am usually hit or miss with Margaret Wise Brown. This time, thanks in large part to the beautiful, old-fashioned charm of the illustrations by BARBARA COONEY, I loved the story and this little book is totally heartwarming and adorable. It's the story of a little fir tree that feels out of place in its meadow next to the larger fir forest--and of a little lame boy who cannot get out of bed to go enjoy the trees outside. When the little boy's father brings the little fir tree (roots and all) inside the little boy's room for the winter, it's a magical time for both the tree and the boy.
I had no idea there was this more recent illustrated edition by LaMarche (whose illustrations I have enjoyed in other books) and so I might have to check into it. However, I don't think anything could replace the nostalgic appeal of the original edition as it just really takes you back to a more gentle sort of Christmas season.
I am usually hit or miss with Margaret Wise Brown. This time, thanks in large part to the beautiful, old-fashioned charm of the illustrations by BARBARA COONEY, I loved the story and this little book is totally heartwarming and adorable. It's the story of a little fir tree that feels out of place in its meadow next to the larger fir forest--and of a little lame boy who cannot get out of bed to go enjoy the trees outside. When the little boy's father brings the little fir tree (roots and all) inside the little boy's room for the winter, it's a magical time for both the tree and the boy.
I had no idea there was this more recent illustrated edition by LaMarche (whose illustrations I have enjoyed in other books) and so I might have to check into it. However, I don't think anything could replace the nostalgic appeal of the original edition as it just really takes you back to a more gentle sort of Christmas season.
June 20, 2020
3.5/5
This is a sweet children’s picture book about a little fir tree that lives in the forest but gets brought to a household every year for the holidays.
This is a sweet children’s picture book about a little fir tree that lives in the forest but gets brought to a household every year for the holidays.
December 17, 2009
This has the potential to be a heart-warming - or maybe tear-jerking - kind of book. Then it falls flat. Splat. I knew that I recognized the author's name but couldn't remember from where. When I looked at the bio and discovered that she also wrote Good Night Moon. Of course, it makes sense now. Moon lacks anything resembling a story line and it would follow suit that she would apply her listless story-telling to a potentially more inspirational tale.
Blah.
Blah.
December 25, 2016
I read the original 1954 version, which has a much better cover. Anyway, my take away from this very 1950s story is, how many times can they really keep unrooting this tree?
December 18, 2016
The first page is mostly blurred out.
If a windy day blew this little seed out into the field, wouldn't there be other seeds that blew away too?
The birds are cute on the little tree, and I like the bird in flight. It's wings look just like a picture of a bird in mid-flight.
Not sure why the seasons are capitalized.
'Seven times the Summer had droned its hot bee-buzzing days around him.' Writing like this doesn't rlly make sense, and doesn't sound good to read.
It starts to pull at your sympathy. 'Hr felt a little lonesome in his littleness, away from the other trees. He wished he were part of the forest or part of something, instead of growing all alone out there, a little fir tree in a big empty field.'
Not too little not too big. At first I was thinking how can this be not too little? It's tiny! But he had some plan to bring it to his son.
Good drawing of the guy. Looks very realistic. Western style clothing.
So that's how you replant a tree! Gunnysack is a new term.
I like the color of the tree when it's on the guys back.
It didn't make sense when he said it's for a Celebration. And in the Spring he'll bring him back and plant him and he'll grow each year, and continue to be used for every Celebration. So he's going to plant him and dig him out each year? Why not plant him near the house? It'll probably be hard to dif it up
"You shall be his living tree" struck me as odd.
It was weird how the boy had never left his bed. Just because he has a lame leg in no way means he can't leave his bed.
He wished for a tree that could come to him. For how long did he wish this? He could have gotten a tree every single year.
He's holding a tree ornament.
The boy looked somewhat cute looking out the window, but when the page is turned the boy's eyes staring over at the tree look crazy.
When he talks it's robotic; "you have come to me from the wild green forest. And you are a part of my very own world. You have come to the great Celebration of Christmas."
They're dressed like olden times and yet the ornaments look modern.
Idt kids will know the word pungent.
-I wish this hadn't been on the back of the cover, cuz it gave it away. How they out golden tinsel on the branches, golden bells, green icicles, silver stars and 'chains of shining Christmas balls.'
The writing got strange here: 'and soon--o shining wonder--the little fir tree was...
A CHRISTMAS TREE
It seemed like they lived in a remote place, but these random children come to sing Christmas carols.
'They sang new words to an old carol that the boy had made up in the joy of the day: O Christmas Tree,
O Christmas Tree!
Your greenest branches
Live for me.'
It sounds too much like O Christmas Tree. Come up with something totally different!
Now this is getting weird. It's like the tree is literally living for him. Why can't the kid just enjoy a Christmas tree normally like everyone else?
Some of the kids clothes look modern, like the striped leggings. The boy singing in the back against the wall looks odd.
I can't believe they just skipped over Christmas like that and that's all they did. What about Christmas morning and presents?
'Spring came in, flashing with birds and flowers.' I wish this was written better.
'Summer droned its bee-buzzing days around him.
And Autumn came and whirled milkweed parachutes past his head.'
We already heard this! Think of soemthing new!
I did like each drawing of the tree during Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Why am I capitalizing these words?
'The time had come for the little fir tree to be carried once more to the bright lights of the Celebration.' Bright lights of the celebration?!? What celebration? Kids coming over to sing by lamplight?
'The man in long boots came and carried him back to the little boy.'
Now we're pretending we dk who they are.
The mountain is pretty in the background.
The boy and the tree were bigger, 'and the lights seemed even brighter.' Yes the lights were brighter.
'Again they sang the new words to the old, old tune and they sang and they sang them to the living tree.' This writing is ruining the story.
I see the boy waving from his bed, which sort of touches the heart strings.
I'm interested to see if he looks older and bigger, and I turn the page to see a boy that looks not only younger and smaller, but a completely different boy altogether.
I like the adjoining page with the dad carrying the tree. I like how the illustration doesn't fill the page, and is centered, and the colors.
It said all winter the tree grew in the boy's window. How was it in the window?
I've thought this since almost the beginning. It's strange how the tree is written as if it's a person, with feelings. It has gotten fuller, but in a way this tree wouldn't. It looks like a different species of tree.
Oh no, the dad isn't showing.
The moon is pretty showing behind the trees. There's weird floating lights in the snow.
I didn't see this coming. The tree hears--on top of feeling, he can hear--carolers in the distance. I glanced at the picture to see the boy at the tree, so then wasn't surprised to read the boy was leading the band of carolers.
'He was WALKING, walking out to his tree near the forest.' We don't need things capitalized at us as if we can't FEEL things for OURSELVES.
I thought it was nice they put red berries and apples and cookies for the birds to eat. Very nice. However the birds could eat the tinsel.
The boy looks completely different again, not just from the boy first introduced to us, but the next boy who's supposed to be an older version. This boy had brown hair and looks SMALLER than the last boy. I swear he's Benjamin Button.
12:51 am.
Are you kidding me?! It isn't even explained how the boy goes his whole life being a cripple and bedridden cuz his parents haven't thought of simply carrying him outside or bringing a Christmas tree in like a regular person.
I guess the tree is supposed to symbolize the boys growth, so I'll accept it in the story.
The slew of carolers is never explained. Are they neighbors? Where are their parents?
It seems like that Christmas celebration would get very old. Singing the same four line song every year.
If a windy day blew this little seed out into the field, wouldn't there be other seeds that blew away too?
The birds are cute on the little tree, and I like the bird in flight. It's wings look just like a picture of a bird in mid-flight.
Not sure why the seasons are capitalized.
'Seven times the Summer had droned its hot bee-buzzing days around him.' Writing like this doesn't rlly make sense, and doesn't sound good to read.
It starts to pull at your sympathy. 'Hr felt a little lonesome in his littleness, away from the other trees. He wished he were part of the forest or part of something, instead of growing all alone out there, a little fir tree in a big empty field.'
Not too little not too big. At first I was thinking how can this be not too little? It's tiny! But he had some plan to bring it to his son.
Good drawing of the guy. Looks very realistic. Western style clothing.
So that's how you replant a tree! Gunnysack is a new term.
I like the color of the tree when it's on the guys back.
It didn't make sense when he said it's for a Celebration. And in the Spring he'll bring him back and plant him and he'll grow each year, and continue to be used for every Celebration. So he's going to plant him and dig him out each year? Why not plant him near the house? It'll probably be hard to dif it up
"You shall be his living tree" struck me as odd.
It was weird how the boy had never left his bed. Just because he has a lame leg in no way means he can't leave his bed.
He wished for a tree that could come to him. For how long did he wish this? He could have gotten a tree every single year.
He's holding a tree ornament.
The boy looked somewhat cute looking out the window, but when the page is turned the boy's eyes staring over at the tree look crazy.
When he talks it's robotic; "you have come to me from the wild green forest. And you are a part of my very own world. You have come to the great Celebration of Christmas."
They're dressed like olden times and yet the ornaments look modern.
Idt kids will know the word pungent.
-I wish this hadn't been on the back of the cover, cuz it gave it away. How they out golden tinsel on the branches, golden bells, green icicles, silver stars and 'chains of shining Christmas balls.'
The writing got strange here: 'and soon--o shining wonder--the little fir tree was...
A CHRISTMAS TREE
It seemed like they lived in a remote place, but these random children come to sing Christmas carols.
'They sang new words to an old carol that the boy had made up in the joy of the day: O Christmas Tree,
O Christmas Tree!
Your greenest branches
Live for me.'
It sounds too much like O Christmas Tree. Come up with something totally different!
Now this is getting weird. It's like the tree is literally living for him. Why can't the kid just enjoy a Christmas tree normally like everyone else?
Some of the kids clothes look modern, like the striped leggings. The boy singing in the back against the wall looks odd.
I can't believe they just skipped over Christmas like that and that's all they did. What about Christmas morning and presents?
'Spring came in, flashing with birds and flowers.' I wish this was written better.
'Summer droned its bee-buzzing days around him.
And Autumn came and whirled milkweed parachutes past his head.'
We already heard this! Think of soemthing new!
I did like each drawing of the tree during Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Why am I capitalizing these words?
'The time had come for the little fir tree to be carried once more to the bright lights of the Celebration.' Bright lights of the celebration?!? What celebration? Kids coming over to sing by lamplight?
'The man in long boots came and carried him back to the little boy.'
Now we're pretending we dk who they are.
The mountain is pretty in the background.
The boy and the tree were bigger, 'and the lights seemed even brighter.' Yes the lights were brighter.
'Again they sang the new words to the old, old tune and they sang and they sang them to the living tree.' This writing is ruining the story.
I see the boy waving from his bed, which sort of touches the heart strings.
I'm interested to see if he looks older and bigger, and I turn the page to see a boy that looks not only younger and smaller, but a completely different boy altogether.
I like the adjoining page with the dad carrying the tree. I like how the illustration doesn't fill the page, and is centered, and the colors.
It said all winter the tree grew in the boy's window. How was it in the window?
I've thought this since almost the beginning. It's strange how the tree is written as if it's a person, with feelings. It has gotten fuller, but in a way this tree wouldn't. It looks like a different species of tree.
Oh no, the dad isn't showing.
The moon is pretty showing behind the trees. There's weird floating lights in the snow.
I didn't see this coming. The tree hears--on top of feeling, he can hear--carolers in the distance. I glanced at the picture to see the boy at the tree, so then wasn't surprised to read the boy was leading the band of carolers.
'He was WALKING, walking out to his tree near the forest.' We don't need things capitalized at us as if we can't FEEL things for OURSELVES.
I thought it was nice they put red berries and apples and cookies for the birds to eat. Very nice. However the birds could eat the tinsel.
The boy looks completely different again, not just from the boy first introduced to us, but the next boy who's supposed to be an older version. This boy had brown hair and looks SMALLER than the last boy. I swear he's Benjamin Button.
12:51 am.
Are you kidding me?! It isn't even explained how the boy goes his whole life being a cripple and bedridden cuz his parents haven't thought of simply carrying him outside or bringing a Christmas tree in like a regular person.
I guess the tree is supposed to symbolize the boys growth, so I'll accept it in the story.
The slew of carolers is never explained. Are they neighbors? Where are their parents?
It seems like that Christmas celebration would get very old. Singing the same four line song every year.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2016
I wasn't crazy about the writing. I thought there was too much of it and I didn't like the way things were described.
"As Spring and Summer and Autumn and Winter passed by and another Spring turned green.."
"Seven times the Spring had come flashing..."
I think things could have been said in a better way. I doubt kids could follow Summer droning "it's hot bee-buzzing days" and milkweed parachutes and fields crackling with the diamond light of ice. That kind of talking would sail right over their heads.
It was a nice character though, this little fir tree growing all by itself out in the field while the big trees are all together in the forest.
I thought it weird she described the man as carrying a shovel and wearing long black boots. It seemed like a random way to define him, like not the color of his hair or his age or anything but his boots...
I thought it was weird how he said the tree was going to a great Celebration. Who calls Christmas a Celebration? Then in the Spring--didn't know seasons needed to be capitalized-he planned on taking it back to the forest and planting it again, then taking it back for the "great Celebration" and taking it back each year in the Spring. What an exhausting cycle. Couldn't he just find a different tree each year?
His son is lame and can't leave his bed. It was just way too much that he listened to the trees at night. You can't hear them unless they're blowing around in the wind against something. He watched his dad bring the little tree up to the house with a "swish of branches and a prickly green smell." How can something have a prickly green smell? Prickly is an adjective and green is a color, which appeals to the sense of sight, not smell. And how does he know what it smells like? he's inside.
His bed was quite fantastical. It looked like a sleigh bed rather then a regular bed which was unusual. And that kid didn't talking a kid at all. "You have come to me from the wild green forest. And you are a part of my very own world. You have come to the great Celebration of Christmas."
What's the deal with the Celebration? It's Christmas. That's the celebration.
The story was just so stupid. I couldn't take the page with the caroling. I don't think kids know the word pungent. And running through a laundry list of all of the decorations and their colors was tedious. Golden tinsel, golden bells, green icicles, silver stars, red and green and purple chains of Christmas balls.
And omg "and soon--o shining wonder--the little fir tree was . . .
A CHRISTMAS TREE!"
Then there's a bunch of random kids that just came to sang carols. I thought they were family but there were no adults. Apparently they're just kids that go around caroling by themselves with no adults present. And make themselves at home in your house, even sitting on your bed.
And the boy came up with his own song. Oh, wait. No he didn't. He took a Christmas carol and just changed two lines.
O Christmas Tree!
O Christmas Tree!
Your greenest branches
Live for me."
Um, no they don't. Trees don't live for people. They live for themselves. And only the greenest of its branches live for him? What???
Then Christmas was over. <>That was the big Celebration of Christmas? How lame.
Then it's running back through the same list of seasons-in capital letters. Spring came with birds and flowers, Summer droned with bee-buzzing days, Autumn with milkweed parachutes.
I can't believe this man planted and uprooted this tree every single year. What a ridiculous thing to do. And I thought the object was to plant the tree with the others, not keep him off by himself. That next winter the man in long boots came and got it again. I'm surprised she didn't call him the man with long socks as he stood at the door listening to the carolers. "They sang the new words to the old, old tune and they sang and they sang them to the living tree."
Could she find one other word to use besides Summer "droned?" Jeeze.
The next year the boy is walking on his own. No word of how a crippled kid that has never left his bed in his life suddenly walks. But the family and the random bunch of kids that came from nowhere all traipse out to the woods and decorate the tree. It was nice that they put apples and cookies and berries on there for the birds to eat.
I did not enjoy this at all. I didn't like the fate of the tree, how it kept being uprooted and planted again, or the boy writing stupid, nonsense words to an old Christmas classic, or his miraculous recovery from being crippled his whole life to growing out of it. The tree should have been planted beside the others.
"As Spring and Summer and Autumn and Winter passed by and another Spring turned green.."
"Seven times the Spring had come flashing..."
I think things could have been said in a better way. I doubt kids could follow Summer droning "it's hot bee-buzzing days" and milkweed parachutes and fields crackling with the diamond light of ice. That kind of talking would sail right over their heads.
It was a nice character though, this little fir tree growing all by itself out in the field while the big trees are all together in the forest.
I thought it weird she described the man as carrying a shovel and wearing long black boots. It seemed like a random way to define him, like not the color of his hair or his age or anything but his boots...
I thought it was weird how he said the tree was going to a great Celebration. Who calls Christmas a Celebration? Then in the Spring--didn't know seasons needed to be capitalized-he planned on taking it back to the forest and planting it again, then taking it back for the "great Celebration" and taking it back each year in the Spring. What an exhausting cycle. Couldn't he just find a different tree each year?
His son is lame and can't leave his bed. It was just way too much that he listened to the trees at night. You can't hear them unless they're blowing around in the wind against something. He watched his dad bring the little tree up to the house with a "swish of branches and a prickly green smell." How can something have a prickly green smell? Prickly is an adjective and green is a color, which appeals to the sense of sight, not smell. And how does he know what it smells like? he's inside.
His bed was quite fantastical. It looked like a sleigh bed rather then a regular bed which was unusual. And that kid didn't talking a kid at all. "You have come to me from the wild green forest. And you are a part of my very own world. You have come to the great Celebration of Christmas."
What's the deal with the Celebration? It's Christmas. That's the celebration.
The story was just so stupid. I couldn't take the page with the caroling. I don't think kids know the word pungent. And running through a laundry list of all of the decorations and their colors was tedious. Golden tinsel, golden bells, green icicles, silver stars, red and green and purple chains of Christmas balls.
And omg "and soon--o shining wonder--the little fir tree was . . .
A CHRISTMAS TREE!"
Then there's a bunch of random kids that just came to sang carols. I thought they were family but there were no adults. Apparently they're just kids that go around caroling by themselves with no adults present. And make themselves at home in your house, even sitting on your bed.
And the boy came up with his own song. Oh, wait. No he didn't. He took a Christmas carol and just changed two lines.
O Christmas Tree!
O Christmas Tree!
Your greenest branches
Live for me."
Um, no they don't. Trees don't live for people. They live for themselves. And only the greenest of its branches live for him? What???
Then Christmas was over. <>That was the big Celebration of Christmas? How lame.
Then it's running back through the same list of seasons-in capital letters. Spring came with birds and flowers, Summer droned with bee-buzzing days, Autumn with milkweed parachutes.
I can't believe this man planted and uprooted this tree every single year. What a ridiculous thing to do. And I thought the object was to plant the tree with the others, not keep him off by himself. That next winter the man in long boots came and got it again. I'm surprised she didn't call him the man with long socks as he stood at the door listening to the carolers. "They sang the new words to the old, old tune and they sang and they sang them to the living tree."
Could she find one other word to use besides Summer "droned?" Jeeze.
The next year the boy is walking on his own. No word of how a crippled kid that has never left his bed in his life suddenly walks. But the family and the random bunch of kids that came from nowhere all traipse out to the woods and decorate the tree. It was nice that they put apples and cookies and berries on there for the birds to eat.
I did not enjoy this at all. I didn't like the fate of the tree, how it kept being uprooted and planted again, or the boy writing stupid, nonsense words to an old Christmas classic, or his miraculous recovery from being crippled his whole life to growing out of it. The tree should have been planted beside the others.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2024
Originally posted on Creative Madness Mama. Hello friends! As of January 2019, I have an affiliate account with Memoria Press. If you’re here, you know how passionate I am about Memoria Press. Please bless my family by using our links.
Date Published: 2009 (orig. illustrations 2005, orig. text 1954)
Recommended to Margaret by: Memoria Press Kindergarten
Read on December 04, 2013 — I own a copy
The Little Fir Tree is our literature selection for school this week, I believe that we're 13 weeks into the curriculum for Memoria Press Kindergarten. It is a lovely story. Coming into this one, I was thinking it is a lovely cover illustration and I already know that I appreciate the poetic prose of Margaret Wise Brown, I expect to like it. I was right, this is a lovely story for Christmas. It is one of time past that is fun to point out the elements that date the illustrations such as the lamps and other items in the house. I had not read this before, but I'm delighted to add it to our pile of Christmas reads. It's beautiful. It is absolutely beautiful in illustration and imagery, the illustrations for my edition are by Jim LaMarche with a 2005 copyright, and while the story might be from 1954 it holds strong now. There is no commercialization or covering with presents, but family and friends and the importance of celebration together is powerful.
What I wasn't expected was to become teary-eyed and choked up while reading a children's picture book, but that is exactly what happened. The look on my girls faces when they went for the tree in the last scene, oh wow. What an experience. I definitely recommend this book! Especially for sharing hope with others.
I purchased this book for my school lists for Kindergarten and definitely recommend the purchase for others.
Parts of these biographies are taken from the Memoria Press Kindergarten Enrichment Guide, a fabulous resource!
This supplemental guide is organized by week, matching our Classical Core Kindergarten program. It includes an overview of each read-aloud book, author and illustrator biographies, oral reading questions, and a simple language lesson. These activities will help bring each book alive for your student. Also included are resources for the social studies and science lessons, biographies of the artists and composers, and poetry lessons.
Jim LaMarche grew up in Wisconsin, where one of his best childhood memories were the carefree days year-round along the Milwaukee River. He began college as a biology major but switched to art. After attending the University of Wisconsin, he joined a volunteer group and created curriculum for schools in North Dakota. Soon after, he moved to California, where he still resides with his wife and three sons.
Jim LaMarche has illustrated many award-winning children's books, which include The Rainbabies and Little Oh by Laura Krauss Melmed.
This review was originally posted on Creative Madness Mama.
September 9, 2017
Sorry, but I don't agree that sentimentality that exploits a person with a disability is not ok. I can't believe the child was never bundled up and put on a sled, or in a cart, and taken to the forest. I'm not sure a tree can handle all that transplanting & shock, either. And even if these plot holes were plugged, the theme cloys.
LaMarche's paintings are pretty (though I imagine I'd prefer Cooney's) and some of MWB's language is (as usual for her) poetic, so I do give it two stars instead of one.
LaMarche's paintings are pretty (though I imagine I'd prefer Cooney's) and some of MWB's language is (as usual for her) poetic, so I do give it two stars instead of one.
May 25, 2017
The little fir tree by Margaret Wise Brown
Story of a little tree and it's life as it grows up and what it means to the little boy who gets it for a Christmas tree.
Great children's story from one of the best authors. They return the tree to the forest and sing carols and decorate the tree.
Poem about the holiday. Man who normally got the tree didn't come one year.
Great surprise for all.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
Story of a little tree and it's life as it grows up and what it means to the little boy who gets it for a Christmas tree.
Great children's story from one of the best authors. They return the tree to the forest and sing carols and decorate the tree.
Poem about the holiday. Man who normally got the tree didn't come one year.
Great surprise for all.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
June 28, 2022
Entering the wide and beautiful world of children’s literature … and I realized I need to explore more of Margaret Wise Brown (wrote Goodnight Moon). This is a substantive and beautiful Christmas read.
March 6, 2018
A lonely fir tree and little boy that feels the same, a father's commitment to brighten his boy's spirit brings together two lonely souls in celebration.
Sweet and heartwarming.
Sweet and heartwarming.
December 6, 2021
Such a sweet story, should have known with Margaret Wise Brown. Makes me cry each time, one to add to our home library shelf.
December 21, 2009
This story is absolutely wonderful. I think that Margaret Wise Brown has really found her perfect synergy of heartfelt narrative and beautiful use of words in The Little Fir Tree, and the result is a splendidly lovely book about a boy whose lame leg doesn't allow for him to be outside to get a tree for Christmas, so every December when the ground is first blanketed by snow his father goes and and digs up the same lonely little tree for his boy, bringing it inside for Christmas and taking it back outside again and re-rooting it each spring. Then comes the winter when the boy's father doesn't come for the tree...
This book has to be right up there with The Polar Express as the two best Christmas picture books that I've ever read. The boy and the tree will sink their way deep down into your heart if you read this story, and you'll never forget them. I absolutely recommend The Little Fir Tree to anyone.
Enchanting.
This book has to be right up there with The Polar Express as the two best Christmas picture books that I've ever read. The boy and the tree will sink their way deep down into your heart if you read this story, and you'll never forget them. I absolutely recommend The Little Fir Tree to anyone.
Enchanting.
February 9, 2016
A beautiful story compounded in beauty by the illustrations of Jim LaMarche. Each image is so lovely that I took time to soak in the soft rendition of faces and of the woods.
A small boy cannot walk. He does not leave his bed. Each year, his father goes to the woods, digs up a small fir tree that seems just right, and brings it home. The tree is decorated and remains in the child's room until after the holiday. Each year the tree is returned to the place where it grew, so that yet another year of Christmas will come round and the cycle will happen again.
One year, the tree is too big to bring inside. Magically, this is the year that the child walks. As the snow falls, the tree is sad because he will not be taken inside with the boy. Then, as the tree hears carols, he watches as the little boy and his family walk to the tree and decorate it in the wild.
Trite, corny, -- yes, but, lovely, simply lovely to behold.
A small boy cannot walk. He does not leave his bed. Each year, his father goes to the woods, digs up a small fir tree that seems just right, and brings it home. The tree is decorated and remains in the child's room until after the holiday. Each year the tree is returned to the place where it grew, so that yet another year of Christmas will come round and the cycle will happen again.
One year, the tree is too big to bring inside. Magically, this is the year that the child walks. As the snow falls, the tree is sad because he will not be taken inside with the boy. Then, as the tree hears carols, he watches as the little boy and his family walk to the tree and decorate it in the wild.
Trite, corny, -- yes, but, lovely, simply lovely to behold.
January 5, 2021
It could very well be that I just wasn't in the mood today for this particular book but I felt like I wanted to like it more than I did. The overriding thought was...that's not how trees work. Like, it's a nice theory but no way would the tree survive this treatment. I guess it's marginally better than chopping it down? Maybe?
The portrayal of the boy also seemed dated, which makes sense, since it's an old book, but the idea of him being lame and bedridden and then all of a sudden being able to walk in the end...it felt like (well, is) a stereotype of a bygone era.
I kinda want to stick this back in the box and read it next Christmas to see if I'm less of a downer then.
The portrayal of the boy also seemed dated, which makes sense, since it's an old book, but the idea of him being lame and bedridden and then all of a sudden being able to walk in the end...it felt like (well, is) a stereotype of a bygone era.
I kinda want to stick this back in the box and read it next Christmas to see if I'm less of a downer then.
July 6, 2021
I liked it, and I didn't. I was disturbed by the moving of the tree back and forth, although the reasoning was understandable. The illustrations were beautiful and charming. I wasn't sure what I thought of the ending, although it didn't go in the direction I thought it was going to, thankfully.
March 23, 2023
This one doesn’t hold up. There’s a tree that gets replanted every year so a family can keep using it as a Christmas tree. And then there’s a pivotal event that happens off-page. The whole thing is a mystery.
November 20, 2017
The best part of this book are the illustrations. I loved the way the tree and the boy were drawn, the warm feeling I get from the Christmas home, and open feel of the forest. Overall this book is a delight to look at.
The storyline was wanting a little bit.
The premise is simple - this tree is growing away from the others and is found by a man who digs it up and carries it home for his sick child. There the plot falls apart a little bit, because being lame shouldn't keep a boy confined completely to his bed. It made me sad to think no one thought to carry him outside (he seems very small after all). The idea of digging up and replanting this same tree year after year is just...well...not well thought out. Pine trees grow very fast. You're not going to be able to keep doing this even from year to year. Nor would it be good for the tree. Why they didn't just replant it outside their home so it could become part of their family was beyond me. Then the tree wouldn't have had to feel lonely.
Overall, the story was lacking, but I liked the illustrations so much, and the descriptions of the passing of the seasons that I'll give this four stars anyway. But it's definitely an odd little story, and not my favorite to read.
The storyline was wanting a little bit.
The premise is simple - this tree is growing away from the others and is found by a man who digs it up and carries it home for his sick child. There the plot falls apart a little bit, because being lame shouldn't keep a boy confined completely to his bed. It made me sad to think no one thought to carry him outside (he seems very small after all). The idea of digging up and replanting this same tree year after year is just...well...not well thought out. Pine trees grow very fast. You're not going to be able to keep doing this even from year to year. Nor would it be good for the tree. Why they didn't just replant it outside their home so it could become part of their family was beyond me. Then the tree wouldn't have had to feel lonely.
Overall, the story was lacking, but I liked the illustrations so much, and the descriptions of the passing of the seasons that I'll give this four stars anyway. But it's definitely an odd little story, and not my favorite to read.
December 9, 2019
I enjoyed the 1954 original art work for this children's Christmas picture book. I am amazed at the poor reviews for this title. Yes, the language and text is maybe dated but that makes it feel unspoiled and nostalgic to me.
The father digs up a fir tree in the field to bring to his son’s room at Christmastime because his son can’t walk. I am here for all of that. I don’t care if it’s ‘bad for the tree’ to be dug up each year and then replanted. Goodness. The joy that it brings his son. ‘Oh shining wonder’.
The father digs up a fir tree in the field to bring to his son’s room at Christmastime because his son can’t walk. I am here for all of that. I don’t care if it’s ‘bad for the tree’ to be dug up each year and then replanted. Goodness. The joy that it brings his son. ‘Oh shining wonder’.
November 13, 2024
A man walks into the wintry woods and sees a small and lone fir tree. It is not too small, nor too big, and the man digs it up to plant it in a planter for the winter in his son's room. Since his son cannot walk to the trees, the father brings a tree to him. When spring comes, the man takes the tree back to it's spot in the woods, promising to return in the winter again to take the tree back to his son. However, when another winter comes and the tree waits and waits for them man to come, he does not.
The illustrations are so warm and cozy, the perfect winter reading book.
The illustrations are so warm and cozy, the perfect winter reading book.
April 30, 2020
This book was much different from the traditional Christmas book. I enjoyed it because it was very heartwarming. The concept of taking the tree back and forth did not make much sense to me, but by the end of the story I suppose I understood it better. It is a bit complex for young children and would perhaps need some guidance, but a very great read if your looking for a unique Christmas story.
November 18, 2021
A lonely little tree beside a big forest gets chosen to be the Christmas tree for a bed-ridden boy winter after winter, and each spring he is planted back into the ground. Until one Christmas, he fears they forgot to come get him. A tender story with beautiful illustrations. It was too long for Elliot at two years old, so I summarized some of it. We will return to it next year when his attention span is a bit longer.
August 22, 2023
Has your favorite picture book reader ever felt alone? Lonely and unimportant? Ignored?
Then, in no time at all, that reader will start to identify with the sweet little fir tree, seemingly doomed to a dull-and-insignificant life.
Now I sure don't want to reveal any spoilers, but what do you think are the odds? What do you think are the odds, Goodreader, that... around the Christmas season... that tree might be made holiday festive?
Then, in no time at all, that reader will start to identify with the sweet little fir tree, seemingly doomed to a dull-and-insignificant life.
Now I sure don't want to reveal any spoilers, but what do you think are the odds? What do you think are the odds, Goodreader, that... around the Christmas season... that tree might be made holiday festive?
October 11, 2025
Browsing books to give my friends' children as gifts since I won't gift anything I haven't first read myself.
This had some potential. I loved the way the seasons passing are described; the repetition felt like it captured the rhythm of the revolving seasons. Unfortunately, it was the part with the boy. I just didn't get it, especially with the way it ended, which seemed to negate the purpose of the father's quest. I think I'll take a pass on this one.
This had some potential. I loved the way the seasons passing are described; the repetition felt like it captured the rhythm of the revolving seasons. Unfortunately, it was the part with the boy. I just didn't get it, especially with the way it ended, which seemed to negate the purpose of the father's quest. I think I'll take a pass on this one.
December 17, 2018
I agree with many other reviews. I had high hope for this book to be extra special, but the story started, repeated and then just ended. Where did the middle go? Big let down to what could have been so much more. The illustrations were beautiful, so 2 stars. The more books I read by Wise, I'm learning I just am not impressed.
December 10, 2019
I don't know if I've ever read this book first published in 1954 by Margaret Wise Brown. It's a gentle story about a little fir tree brought home to a boy each Christmas. "You have come to me from the wild green forest," said the little boy. "And you are a part of my very own world. You have come to the great Celebration of Christmas." (approx. p. 14)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews