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Tom's Tree
Tom plants a seed. When it grows, Tom knows it will be a magical tree, full of fruit and peacocks and even a pirate house. But all the wishing and whispering in the world won't make the seeding grow big and strong. Tom has to be patient, and wait for the passing seasons to do their work.
25 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
1 person is currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Gillian Shields
59 books540 followersGillian Shields was born and brought up in Yorkshire, in the north of England. As she grew up, she had two passions:books and theater. Gillian’s love of books led her to read English at St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. After university she studied acting in London. She then taught in a drama school, the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, for several years, becoming Vice Principal. She recently taught English and Drama at Beechwood Sacred Heart, a girls’ boarding school.
Having children gave Gillian an excuse to carry on reading children’s books, as well as a motivation to write them. She has a son and a daughter, and is married to Brian, who works for the New York Times Media Group.
Hobbies, Interests, and Enthusiasms
I am currently learning Italian (or trying to!) and have a secret fantasy about going to live on the beautiful island of Sicily one day, and having a little stone house with a lemon tree in the garden, and a view of the blue, blue sea! I am lucky, though, because I do live in a fantastic part of England, full of soft green fields and rolling hills and cottages that date back four hundred years.
I like to go for long walks and see the changes that the seasons bring, and I try to imagine how it all must have been years and years ago, and how the people lived. I was brought up in the north of England which is much more rugged and wild—the backdrop to Immortal.
I also enjoy being in the city—although I wouldn't want to live there all the time, it's fun to go window shopping or to big new exhibitions or shows, or just hang out in a coffee shop with a cappuccino and a notebook and watch the busy world go by.
Something I enjoy is painting. I have taken quite a few art classes and find it very creative to work with paint and charcoal and images instead of words, though somehow I can't help adding bits of poetry and scraps of words into my paintings, too… When I was at school, I was completely obsessed by the Pre-Raphaelites, and I love the way their art is so intertwined with poetry and stories. My best friend is an artist and she is incredibly inspiring to me.
I hate cooking but love the idea of being a good cook and welcoming all my friends and family to delicious meals. So I have lots of beautiful cookery books but I never get past the first couple of recipes. Every so often I get madly enthusiastic all over again, but it doesn't last.
When I am writing, I can't listen to music—I find it too distracting, but I love to listen to the radio when I am driving. I listen to pop music in the morning and classical music in the afternoon. That just seems right somehow. My son is really into music, so I enjoy sharing his enthusiasms. At the moment we are listening to Eminem, Akon, NDubz, Chipmunk, Kanye West, plus Greenday, Michael Jackson…the list goes on. My current absolute favorite is Paolo Nutini.
Another interest I have is this amazing charity called The Smile Train which carries out operations for disadvantaged children born with harelip/cleft palate. Sometimes I feel I don't realize how lucky I am, and so it's good to try and do something to help a child on the other side of the world who isn't so lucky. My family also tries to support Sightsavers International, who do simple cataract operations to restore the sight of hundreds of people in the developing world.
On a more self-indulgent note, I love to get to the theater whenever I can, and to the ballet, which I adore. In another fantasy life I would definitely be a ballerina!
I can't imagine getting through a day without reading or writing. I know it sounds a complete cliche, but there it is. I go to a writers' workshop once a week to meet other writers and exchange ideas and read work in progress, and that is hugely important to me. And every spare minute of the time at home I am reading, reading, reading…What would we do without stories?
Education
St Catharine's College, Cambridge University (MA in Englis
Having children gave Gillian an excuse to carry on reading children’s books, as well as a motivation to write them. She has a son and a daughter, and is married to Brian, who works for the New York Times Media Group.
Hobbies, Interests, and Enthusiasms
I am currently learning Italian (or trying to!) and have a secret fantasy about going to live on the beautiful island of Sicily one day, and having a little stone house with a lemon tree in the garden, and a view of the blue, blue sea! I am lucky, though, because I do live in a fantastic part of England, full of soft green fields and rolling hills and cottages that date back four hundred years.
I like to go for long walks and see the changes that the seasons bring, and I try to imagine how it all must have been years and years ago, and how the people lived. I was brought up in the north of England which is much more rugged and wild—the backdrop to Immortal.
I also enjoy being in the city—although I wouldn't want to live there all the time, it's fun to go window shopping or to big new exhibitions or shows, or just hang out in a coffee shop with a cappuccino and a notebook and watch the busy world go by.
Something I enjoy is painting. I have taken quite a few art classes and find it very creative to work with paint and charcoal and images instead of words, though somehow I can't help adding bits of poetry and scraps of words into my paintings, too… When I was at school, I was completely obsessed by the Pre-Raphaelites, and I love the way their art is so intertwined with poetry and stories. My best friend is an artist and she is incredibly inspiring to me.
I hate cooking but love the idea of being a good cook and welcoming all my friends and family to delicious meals. So I have lots of beautiful cookery books but I never get past the first couple of recipes. Every so often I get madly enthusiastic all over again, but it doesn't last.
When I am writing, I can't listen to music—I find it too distracting, but I love to listen to the radio when I am driving. I listen to pop music in the morning and classical music in the afternoon. That just seems right somehow. My son is really into music, so I enjoy sharing his enthusiasms. At the moment we are listening to Eminem, Akon, NDubz, Chipmunk, Kanye West, plus Greenday, Michael Jackson…the list goes on. My current absolute favorite is Paolo Nutini.
Another interest I have is this amazing charity called The Smile Train which carries out operations for disadvantaged children born with harelip/cleft palate. Sometimes I feel I don't realize how lucky I am, and so it's good to try and do something to help a child on the other side of the world who isn't so lucky. My family also tries to support Sightsavers International, who do simple cataract operations to restore the sight of hundreds of people in the developing world.
On a more self-indulgent note, I love to get to the theater whenever I can, and to the ballet, which I adore. In another fantasy life I would definitely be a ballerina!
I can't imagine getting through a day without reading or writing. I know it sounds a complete cliche, but there it is. I go to a writers' workshop once a week to meet other writers and exchange ideas and read work in progress, and that is hugely important to me. And every spare minute of the time at home I am reading, reading, reading…What would we do without stories?
Education
St Catharine's College, Cambridge University (MA in Englis
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 22, 2022
“I really liked it. Because there’s a tree in it and it growed all the way up to the sky!”
June 9, 2013
MY REVIEW
Patience is something that is sometimes very, very difficult to have. This book teaches that if one has patience then good things can come from it. I liked this book because the author uses a variety of ways to show that time is passing. The author shows night and day go by, seasons change, and even decades go by, but does it in less than 30 pages without leaving the reader confused. I also like this book because it encourages children to have imaginations. Even though the older brother in the book tells Tom that the things he imagines are unrealistic, he still thinks them, and, eventually, his son see exactly what his father had imagined. My opinions one the artwork in the book are split. I think the the illustrator does a lovely job portraying the changing seasons, night/day, and the trees and landscapes. However, I'm not extremely fond of the human characters. Though they possess all the characteristics of a human, they seem flat and lifeless in comparison to the landscaping. But, in a book in which the main focus is a tree, I suppose that this isn't exactly a negative. The book features some good plant-related vocabulary including "shoot" and "bud". I think this book could be used to try and help children understand that sometimes some things are worth waiting for.
LEARNING EXTENSION
Materials Needed
*Wide, open space
*Marked Start and Finish Line
*Optional: Red and Green Signs to signal 'Stop' and 'Go'
1. Students will start at the start line. The will be lined up in one row. (This means that they all start as if they were in '1st place' position.)
2. The instructor will stand on the finish line, facing the children.
3. The teacher will announce "green light" (If using signs the instructor will hold up the green sign). At this signal the children are allowed to proceed forward toward the teacher.
4. The teacher will announce "red light"(If using signs the instructor will hold up the red sign and lower the green). At this signal the children must stop where they are and hold still. The children must have patience and await the instructors next command of "green light".
5.If a child moves during the "red light" portion of the game, they are required to return to the starting line.
6. Once all children have successfully made it to the finish line the game is over.
7. Speak with the children about how it made them feel to have to stand still during the "red light" portions of the game. Did it make them feel good when they were finally able to reach the finish line? How did it make them feel when they were not patient and had to go back to the starting line if they moved?
Patience is something that is sometimes very, very difficult to have. This book teaches that if one has patience then good things can come from it. I liked this book because the author uses a variety of ways to show that time is passing. The author shows night and day go by, seasons change, and even decades go by, but does it in less than 30 pages without leaving the reader confused. I also like this book because it encourages children to have imaginations. Even though the older brother in the book tells Tom that the things he imagines are unrealistic, he still thinks them, and, eventually, his son see exactly what his father had imagined. My opinions one the artwork in the book are split. I think the the illustrator does a lovely job portraying the changing seasons, night/day, and the trees and landscapes. However, I'm not extremely fond of the human characters. Though they possess all the characteristics of a human, they seem flat and lifeless in comparison to the landscaping. But, in a book in which the main focus is a tree, I suppose that this isn't exactly a negative. The book features some good plant-related vocabulary including "shoot" and "bud". I think this book could be used to try and help children understand that sometimes some things are worth waiting for.
LEARNING EXTENSION
Materials Needed
*Wide, open space
*Marked Start and Finish Line
*Optional: Red and Green Signs to signal 'Stop' and 'Go'
1. Students will start at the start line. The will be lined up in one row. (This means that they all start as if they were in '1st place' position.)
2. The instructor will stand on the finish line, facing the children.
3. The teacher will announce "green light" (If using signs the instructor will hold up the green sign). At this signal the children are allowed to proceed forward toward the teacher.
4. The teacher will announce "red light"(If using signs the instructor will hold up the red sign and lower the green). At this signal the children must stop where they are and hold still. The children must have patience and await the instructors next command of "green light".
5.If a child moves during the "red light" portion of the game, they are required to return to the starting line.
6. Once all children have successfully made it to the finish line the game is over.
7. Speak with the children about how it made them feel to have to stand still during the "red light" portions of the game. Did it make them feel good when they were finally able to reach the finish line? How did it make them feel when they were not patient and had to go back to the starting line if they moved?
June 11, 2013
Tom's Tree as he imgaines it is filled wIth things that he likes and wants. The book teaches children about patience and love. Toms tree took many years to grow, but he still was able to enjoy that moment with his son. It allows children to see generations doing things together. The illustrations have great detail making it easier to imagine what Tom is going through. Vocabulary words could be planted and branches. Learning experience would be planting a tree outside and give it love while having patience.
October 16, 2009
The watercolor effect in the illustrations looks as if the book was water-damaged and the facial features of the characters seem non-existent. Reminiscent of The Giving Tree but the magical aspect is not as strong. This book deals more with not giving up and patience.
February 12, 2010
This book is the story of a boy who dreams about how big his tree will be. He plants it as a boy but it only reaches the height of his dreams when he is a grown man with a child of his own. It is a great story to discuss the life cyle of a plant and how to care for a plant.
October 16, 2014
This book is filled with adorable old fashion styled illustrations. The story points out how long it really does take for a tree to grow and the many seasons it has to endure before it becomes strong enough before a little boys imagination can fully be realized, even if it is a generation later.
May 17, 2009
Sweet story that made me teary. Very appealing illustrations.
June 9, 2009
It takes imagination, faith, and patience to plant a tree. Luckily for Tom and later, Edward, Tom has all of these qualities.
December 16, 2010
trees, growing
October 8, 2015
Tree
Seed
Patience
Imagination
Primary
What can a tree become?
Seed
Patience
Imagination
Primary
What can a tree become?
May 12, 2017
It was a cute book about a boy who plants a tree and impatiently waits for it to grow, but I thought the ending left a lot to be desired. It would have been cooler if Tom could also see the things he imagined in the tree when he was there holding his son.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews