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Apple Tree Christmas
Originally published over twenty years ago, and out of print since 1998, Sleeping Bear Press is proud to bring this beloved Christmas tale to a whole new audience. Moving and nostalgic, and brought to life by glowing watercolor paintings, it reveals the joy of a very special present and the love that a father and daughter share.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
December 14, 2020
This is a beautiful and utterly sweet Christmas story that was out of print for several years. It has now been republished. The highlights of this short story are the wondrous water color paintings that grace each page. The narrative, which takes only a few minutes to read, describes a very sad event that morphs into a true blessing that provides for a very Merry Christmas indeed. The bond portrayed between the father and his two little girls is so touching. Animals, apples, the love of a close family, and a Christmas from the heart. What more could one want in a story this holiday season?
December 6, 2019
Read on Open Library. Thanks to Kathryn!
This is a text heavy picture book.
This is a lovely story. This is my favorite kind of Christmas story: heartwarming, simple, secular, with nature included, and with a sweet ending. The ending was perfect. I love this family. Very sweet but not overly so. It’s a realistic story. I was deeply touched by the love shown in this family and the Christmas gifts they exchanged, especially the ones made for the daughters.
My only quibble, and I don’t expect many to share it, is the farmed animals. Yes, these are one family farmed animals well cared for and not factory farmed one, but they do have a cow to milk and yet no calf is in sight so a half star off from me. 4-1/2 stars.
Lovely illustrations! They’re so much fun to view and I just love their style. There are so many wonderful details.
This is a perfect book to read around Christmas and the winter holidays. Great for all ages as long as the youngest people are ready to sit for a real story and not just a few words with mostly pictures. I’d say for many families this would be a good one to own so it would be easy to reread. Reading this every year would be a fine Christmas tradition.
This is a text heavy picture book.
This is a lovely story. This is my favorite kind of Christmas story: heartwarming, simple, secular, with nature included, and with a sweet ending. The ending was perfect. I love this family. Very sweet but not overly so. It’s a realistic story. I was deeply touched by the love shown in this family and the Christmas gifts they exchanged, especially the ones made for the daughters.
My only quibble, and I don’t expect many to share it, is the farmed animals. Yes, these are one family farmed animals well cared for and not factory farmed one, but they do have a cow to milk and yet no calf is in sight so a half star off from me. 4-1/2 stars.
Lovely illustrations! They’re so much fun to view and I just love their style. There are so many wonderful details.
This is a perfect book to read around Christmas and the winter holidays. Great for all ages as long as the youngest people are ready to sit for a real story and not just a few words with mostly pictures. I’d say for many families this would be a good one to own so it would be easy to reread. Reading this every year would be a fine Christmas tradition.
December 7, 2019
This is a beautifully illustrated Christmas story showing a family living in the late 1800s as they prepare for winter. The focus of the story is a beloved old apple tree, as well as providing food the children play in the branches. There are some lovely scenes of picking and sorting the apples for different uses and making home made presents.
When winter comes there is a terrible storm and
Practicalities aside this is a lovely Christmas book about family closeness and a time in history when Christmas was the giving of simple homemade gifts.
Read on open library.
When winter comes there is a terrible storm and
Practicalities aside this is a lovely Christmas book about family closeness and a time in history when Christmas was the giving of simple homemade gifts.
Read on open library.
December 11, 2019
Lisa Vegan alerted me to this enchanting book for children at Christmas, she also told me that it was available from Open Library, which was new to me.
This book is a pleasure for adults as well as children - it is such a charming and heart-warming story. It also has a tense and gripping middle section - which I found realistic enough for me to worry about the characters. There is also a lovely, heart-busting finish.
If your child can read you can just get them onto your computer and show them how to click through the pages. I would highly recommend that you read it first though - it is such a great story.
This book is a pleasure for adults as well as children - it is such a charming and heart-warming story. It also has a tense and gripping middle section - which I found realistic enough for me to worry about the characters. There is also a lovely, heart-busting finish.
If your child can read you can just get them onto your computer and show them how to click through the pages. I would highly recommend that you read it first though - it is such a great story.
December 13, 2018
A frontier family loves their sweet apple tree. They live in the barn with their animals. That’s living close to nature. There is a huge blizzard before Christmas that takes down their wonderful apple tree and the girls are very sad. They spend much time playing in the tree. The girls end up having a good Christmas when the ingenuity of the father brings the joy of the apples to the girls lives still.
It’s honestly hard for me to imagine living in such conditions this talks about. I know they make it a home, but living in a barn with those smells sounds rough. It would take a lot for me to go back to that rustic. I would have probably moved East. I have a hard time imagining that kind of existence. I’m not saying it’s bad or horrible, I’m saying, I’m very soft and I like my comforts. I need a dry place for a library at the very least - you understand.
I thought this story was ok. The kids weren’t crazy about it. It is rather slow pacing and aside from living in a barn, it’s wasn’t easy to relate to. The nephew gave it 2 stars and he thought living in a barn would be awesome. The niece gave it 1 star and she was very bored. Maybe it was just her pre-teen mood, you can never tell. She rolled her eyes. So it goes.
It’s honestly hard for me to imagine living in such conditions this talks about. I know they make it a home, but living in a barn with those smells sounds rough. It would take a lot for me to go back to that rustic. I would have probably moved East. I have a hard time imagining that kind of existence. I’m not saying it’s bad or horrible, I’m saying, I’m very soft and I like my comforts. I need a dry place for a library at the very least - you understand.
I thought this story was ok. The kids weren’t crazy about it. It is rather slow pacing and aside from living in a barn, it’s wasn’t easy to relate to. The nephew gave it 2 stars and he thought living in a barn would be awesome. The niece gave it 1 star and she was very bored. Maybe it was just her pre-teen mood, you can never tell. She rolled her eyes. So it goes.
December 1, 2021
Set in 1881, there's an apple tree, a blizzard and Christmas. This one will remind adults of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series.
December 13, 2020
Thanks you, Chris, for letting me read your Libby copy of Trinka Hakes Noble’s Apple Tree Christmas. What a wonderful little gem this is! Isn’t it great that after being out of print for more than two decades, it has become available again?
This nostalgic 1880s tale takes place on a farm in December, so we see the family preparing for Christmas. The girls love playing in the old apple tree, and the tree provides food for meals and treats. Like many farm families of those times, they are a close-knit family that sticks together through thick and thin. Later we see that first-hand!
The writing is very touching without feeling overly sentimental. What really stands out, however, are the illustrations. They are simply stunning!
I loved this little story, and even though I was born some seven-plus decades later, it reminded me of my childhood, as we often did crafts, sledded down the hill in the backyard, baked Christmas cookies, and built snow forts. We even had trees to climb, although none of them produced apples. If you’re looking for a lovely Christmas reading treat, pick up Apple Tree Christmas and savor every page.
5 stars
This nostalgic 1880s tale takes place on a farm in December, so we see the family preparing for Christmas. The girls love playing in the old apple tree, and the tree provides food for meals and treats. Like many farm families of those times, they are a close-knit family that sticks together through thick and thin. Later we see that first-hand!
The writing is very touching without feeling overly sentimental. What really stands out, however, are the illustrations. They are simply stunning!
I loved this little story, and even though I was born some seven-plus decades later, it reminded me of my childhood, as we often did crafts, sledded down the hill in the backyard, baked Christmas cookies, and built snow forts. We even had trees to climb, although none of them produced apples. If you’re looking for a lovely Christmas reading treat, pick up Apple Tree Christmas and savor every page.
5 stars
December 4, 2019
I'm so happy I finally got to read this wonderful story set in the early 1880s! It is everything I hoped it would be and more. Moved me to tears. Truly gets to the heart of Christmas and family. Brings you right into the emotions of the story. I wish this was a novel like the Little House Books so I could spend more time with this family. Like the Christmas chapters in those books, this highlights the simple joys of Christmas and that it's not the multitude of gifts that matters but the heart behind them. The illustrations are luminous. I don't have time to write an adequate review but I urge folks to read this if they have any interest in historical fiction and warmhearted Christmas stories centered around families. Highly recommended!
ETA: After posting my review, I realized that the synopsis of this story here on GR is very sparse. If anyone is curious as to more about the story, please see the spoiler. Also, if you have sensitive young readers, you might want to read the spoiler. Much as I loved this story myself, I decided not to share it with my boys this Christmas. My youngest is already frightened of storms, and both boys are sincere nature-lovers so I thought the story might be more upsetting than heartwarming for them at this juncture, though I do hope to share it with them in the future.
ETA: After posting my review, I realized that the synopsis of this story here on GR is very sparse. If anyone is curious as to more about the story, please see the spoiler. Also, if you have sensitive young readers, you might want to read the spoiler. Much as I loved this story myself, I decided not to share it with my boys this Christmas. My youngest is already frightened of storms, and both boys are sincere nature-lovers so I thought the story might be more upsetting than heartwarming for them at this juncture, though I do hope to share it with them in the future.
November 1, 2022
I really like this story by Trinka Hakes Noble. It has the feel of a traditional American tale, yet was first written in 1984, when it won many awards. It is ideal for introducing children to a past time, a different way of life and perhaps a different culture, and showing them that friendship, love and family values are timeless.
The year is 1881, and Katrina and her family live in a barn, in southern Michigan, U.S.A. All their animals: Old Dan the family horse, Mrs. Wooly and her lambs, Sweet Clover the family cow and the chickens sleep beneath the part where they live, and Katrina and her sister Josie sleep in the hayloft. Outside the barn there is a gnarled old apple tree which is loved by all the family. Wild grape vines grows all round the apple tree, stretching all round the trunk and up into the branches of the tree. Katrina’s little sister Josie loves to use a loop in the vine as a swing. And on the opposite branch of the tree is Katrina’s special place to sit. She calls this her “studio”, because it is where she sits to do her drawings.
The apple tree is not just a wonderful place for Katrina and Josie to be. It provides Katrina’s family with lots of apples every Autumn which they store away, and make into apple butter. Now it is late Autumn and the snow is coming. One day the girls stay home from school to help pick and sort apples. They sort the apples into piles for cider, apple sauce, pies, apple butter, lunch pails, and the bruised ones for Old Dan. Some of the apples, the very best ones, are saved to decorate their home and tree at Christmas.
Everything is going well until there is a dreadful blizzard. For days the wind howls and snow falls outside the barn. Then there is an ice storm which peppers the barn with ice pellets and which makes the tree outside snap and groan. They have to stuff straw into holes in the roof, to stop it leaking.
Now Katrina sees how beautiful everything really is, and at last it feels like Christmas.
This is an oversize edition of Apple Tree Christmas is from 2005; it had been out of print since 1998. It contains Trinka Hakes Noble’s original water colour illustrations, which are carefully drawn and full of character. Although it has more text than most picture books, there are illustrations on every page, and frequently a full page one.
Trinka Hakes Noble dedicates this book:
“For my wise and wonderful Father,
who made a drawing board for me,
many years ago …
on which I drew this book for him,
many years later…”
She grew up on a small farm in southern Michigan, and some parts of the story, such as Wooly the sheep, are taken from her own personal experience.
The metaphor of this story is clear, and timeless. The apple tree is not just a tree, it is a source of nourishment, and a place to play and rest, for the children who climb in its branches. The apple tree is needed by all the family in different ways, and links them. Just as a huge apple tree has deep roots and strong boughs, so Katrina’s family is deeply rooted in love and caring for each other.
This reminds me of one of my favourite tales “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. Just as in that story, the Ansterburg family show us a simple Christmas, where family ties and love matter far more than an elaborate Christmas celebration.
The year is 1881, and Katrina and her family live in a barn, in southern Michigan, U.S.A. All their animals: Old Dan the family horse, Mrs. Wooly and her lambs, Sweet Clover the family cow and the chickens sleep beneath the part where they live, and Katrina and her sister Josie sleep in the hayloft. Outside the barn there is a gnarled old apple tree which is loved by all the family. Wild grape vines grows all round the apple tree, stretching all round the trunk and up into the branches of the tree. Katrina’s little sister Josie loves to use a loop in the vine as a swing. And on the opposite branch of the tree is Katrina’s special place to sit. She calls this her “studio”, because it is where she sits to do her drawings.
The apple tree is not just a wonderful place for Katrina and Josie to be. It provides Katrina’s family with lots of apples every Autumn which they store away, and make into apple butter. Now it is late Autumn and the snow is coming. One day the girls stay home from school to help pick and sort apples. They sort the apples into piles for cider, apple sauce, pies, apple butter, lunch pails, and the bruised ones for Old Dan. Some of the apples, the very best ones, are saved to decorate their home and tree at Christmas.
Everything is going well until there is a dreadful blizzard. For days the wind howls and snow falls outside the barn. Then there is an ice storm which peppers the barn with ice pellets and which makes the tree outside snap and groan. They have to stuff straw into holes in the roof, to stop it leaking.
Now Katrina sees how beautiful everything really is, and at last it feels like Christmas.
This is an oversize edition of Apple Tree Christmas is from 2005; it had been out of print since 1998. It contains Trinka Hakes Noble’s original water colour illustrations, which are carefully drawn and full of character. Although it has more text than most picture books, there are illustrations on every page, and frequently a full page one.
Trinka Hakes Noble dedicates this book:
“For my wise and wonderful Father,
who made a drawing board for me,
many years ago …
on which I drew this book for him,
many years later…”
She grew up on a small farm in southern Michigan, and some parts of the story, such as Wooly the sheep, are taken from her own personal experience.
The metaphor of this story is clear, and timeless. The apple tree is not just a tree, it is a source of nourishment, and a place to play and rest, for the children who climb in its branches. The apple tree is needed by all the family in different ways, and links them. Just as a huge apple tree has deep roots and strong boughs, so Katrina’s family is deeply rooted in love and caring for each other.
This reminds me of one of my favourite tales “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. Just as in that story, the Ansterburg family show us a simple Christmas, where family ties and love matter far more than an elaborate Christmas celebration.
December 23, 2020
Katrina, her younger sister Josie, and her mother and father all love the apple tree that stands near their home in this lovely Christmas picture-book, set on a Michigan farm in the 1880s. Josie enjoys the swing attached to the tree, Katrina loves the spot in its branches where she likes to sit and draw, and they all appreciate the fruit it produces. When a terrible blizzard destroys the tree, Katrina is distraught, and cannot understand her father's seeming indifference, as he chops up her arboreal friend for firewood. On Christmas Day however, she discovers that her father understands her loss more than she realized, when Josie's , and she herself is given a ...
Originally published in 1984, and then reprinted in this edition from 2005, Apple Tree Christmas is a beautiful work of picture-book historical fiction, one that is apparently inspired by author/illustrator Trinka Hakes Noble's own childhood on a southern Michigan farm. The story itself is engaging, sensitively highlighting its main character's attachment to the eponymous apple tree, as well as the loving bonds between the members of her family, while the accompanying artwork has a rustic charm that captures the wintry beauty around them. I thought it was very interesting that Katrina and her family are living in the barn, until her father can finish their farmhouse, and suspect that this detail would have charmed me quite a bit, if I had read this first as a girl. I thank my friend Kathryn for recommending this, as I found it quite enjoyable, and I would in turn recommend it to picture-book readers looking for charming Christmas tales, particularly ones with a historical setting.
Originally published in 1984, and then reprinted in this edition from 2005, Apple Tree Christmas is a beautiful work of picture-book historical fiction, one that is apparently inspired by author/illustrator Trinka Hakes Noble's own childhood on a southern Michigan farm. The story itself is engaging, sensitively highlighting its main character's attachment to the eponymous apple tree, as well as the loving bonds between the members of her family, while the accompanying artwork has a rustic charm that captures the wintry beauty around them. I thought it was very interesting that Katrina and her family are living in the barn, until her father can finish their farmhouse, and suspect that this detail would have charmed me quite a bit, if I had read this first as a girl. I thank my friend Kathryn for recommending this, as I found it quite enjoyable, and I would in turn recommend it to picture-book readers looking for charming Christmas tales, particularly ones with a historical setting.
February 17, 2022
I like this book much better than The Giving Tree; in this story, the children love their tree. And I can say no more about that without putting in a spoiler.
Here young readers can imagine what life might have been like 120 years ago (or so). Invariably, after we've read the story, the kids have commented on what they found appealing. Not once have they said anything about how few toys the kids had or the lack of technology or the solitude.
Here young readers can imagine what life might have been like 120 years ago (or so). Invariably, after we've read the story, the kids have commented on what they found appealing. Not once have they said anything about how few toys the kids had or the lack of technology or the solitude.
February 17, 2022
This book tells about a rural family in 1881, as they brave the blizzard & ice storm to have Christmas together. I like the emphasis on family members working together, and the realities of family life and love.
February 12, 2016
I want an apple tree Christmas tree
May 15, 2019
I know that I read this long time ago... when my older sons were little in Wisconsin? Lovely story and illustrations, with a clear view into a slice of homely history.
January 31, 2014
A warm farm family story of an apple tree and how it plays a significant role in their Christmas. I love the fact the family has made their living quarters in a section of the barn what an interesting adventure that would have been. This is the author's tribute or "thank you" for her father's gift of a drawing board on a long ago Christmas.
December 29, 2020
I loved the home-spun old-fashioned charm of this historical fiction tale of Christmas. The story was well-written, and had a beautiful nature theme, with wonderful illustrations. The story really captures the anticipation of Christmas, and shows how families can pull together to create the kind of Christmas that brings harmony and joy. Heartwarming, appealing read.
December 31, 2022
My all time favorite Christmas book. I first read this in 3rd grade and have probably read it every year at Christmas since then. Just a nice, wholesome story.
December 18, 2016
'For my wise and wonderful Father,
who made a drawing board for me,
many years ago...
on which I drew this book for him,
many years later...
-how sweet.
I was kinda confused figuring out where they lived in the barn.
'The Ansterburgs lived in the end of an old barn. Underneath, Mrs. Wooly and her lambs softly moved about; Old Dan bumped in his stall, and Sweet Clover mooed at milking time. On the first floor Mama cooked on a big black stove and papa worked in his woodshop, and above, Katrina and Josie slept in the hay loft. Someday papa would build them a real house. But for now living in the barn with the soft animal sounds and sweet smell of hay was just right.'
I thought the lambs were living in the basement!
That's cute the dad said "I could never separate such close friends."
This is definitely a dif time period when a mom tells her daughters to stay out of school to help her sort apples.
It was interesting how some apples went for cider and applesauce, others went for pies, and small ones went in lunch pails, and bruised ones were given to the horse. I liked the drawings of them all in different baskets. & the best looking apples were used for their Christmas tree.
-she said one would make a nice 'clove apple" for their table.
-I thought it was sort of weird how the mom had a cooking pot outside in the snow.
That seems nice to set in the tree and watch the sun go down behind the trees.
I love that the animals are in the barn below the house, and not outside. It looks cozy in there! They put the animals together in one stall. There's more cats there!
They put straw in the holes of the roof to block out the cold.
Papa said the ice storm took the apple tree, and the mom said "but surely the vines would hold it together."
This is what I didn't like about the description: 'how can he chop up her studio? Doesn't he know she can't draw unless she's in the apple tree? Christmas is coming, but this year Katrina wants no part of it.'
She can def draw in other places, and a lot easier than in a tree.
-what a waste to decorate the tree the day before Christmas!!
I still don't know what a clove apple is.
They got oranges, wild hickory nuts, black walnuts and peppermint sticks. Her sister have their dad his presents and she didn't. There's no emotions here.
The swing was a surprise.
I was expecting the drawing board to be on a table, not the tree limb itself. It looks funny!!
It's kinda weird how she thought 'how wise and wonderful you are, papa.'
Her dad looks like a kind fellow.
I wish she had said thanks and shown emotion for the drawing table.
Her dad writes 'this picture was drawn by Katrina Ansterburgs on Christmas Day 1881.'
Was it true?
The drawing looks modern. It was surprising. Looks like a kids drawing today.
who made a drawing board for me,
many years ago...
on which I drew this book for him,
many years later...
-how sweet.
I was kinda confused figuring out where they lived in the barn.
'The Ansterburgs lived in the end of an old barn. Underneath, Mrs. Wooly and her lambs softly moved about; Old Dan bumped in his stall, and Sweet Clover mooed at milking time. On the first floor Mama cooked on a big black stove and papa worked in his woodshop, and above, Katrina and Josie slept in the hay loft. Someday papa would build them a real house. But for now living in the barn with the soft animal sounds and sweet smell of hay was just right.'
I thought the lambs were living in the basement!
That's cute the dad said "I could never separate such close friends."
This is definitely a dif time period when a mom tells her daughters to stay out of school to help her sort apples.
It was interesting how some apples went for cider and applesauce, others went for pies, and small ones went in lunch pails, and bruised ones were given to the horse. I liked the drawings of them all in different baskets. & the best looking apples were used for their Christmas tree.
-she said one would make a nice 'clove apple" for their table.
-I thought it was sort of weird how the mom had a cooking pot outside in the snow.
That seems nice to set in the tree and watch the sun go down behind the trees.
I love that the animals are in the barn below the house, and not outside. It looks cozy in there! They put the animals together in one stall. There's more cats there!
They put straw in the holes of the roof to block out the cold.
Papa said the ice storm took the apple tree, and the mom said "but surely the vines would hold it together."
This is what I didn't like about the description: 'how can he chop up her studio? Doesn't he know she can't draw unless she's in the apple tree? Christmas is coming, but this year Katrina wants no part of it.'
She can def draw in other places, and a lot easier than in a tree.
-what a waste to decorate the tree the day before Christmas!!
I still don't know what a clove apple is.
They got oranges, wild hickory nuts, black walnuts and peppermint sticks. Her sister have their dad his presents and she didn't. There's no emotions here.
The swing was a surprise.
I was expecting the drawing board to be on a table, not the tree limb itself. It looks funny!!
It's kinda weird how she thought 'how wise and wonderful you are, papa.'
Her dad looks like a kind fellow.
I wish she had said thanks and shown emotion for the drawing table.
Her dad writes 'this picture was drawn by Katrina Ansterburgs on Christmas Day 1881.'
Was it true?
The drawing looks modern. It was surprising. Looks like a kids drawing today.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2010
The Ansterbergs live in the end of their old barn which they share with their animals, and they look forward to the time when Papa will be able to build them a real house. Every Fall they harvest the apples from their old apple tree, and then the tree is free for the two girls to play. One makes a swing out of the vine which wraps around the trunk and branches; the other makes a drawing "studio" out of a broad limb. In the days filled with hard work and chores, the tree provides a great deal of joy to the children. But one night a blizzard destroys the tree, and for two weeks before Christmas the barn is filled with the sounds of Papa sawing the tree up into firewood. The girls are so distracted by grief that they are barely able to prepare their homemade Christmas gifts for the family. Even on Christmas Eve, he stays up late into the night, sawing. On Christmas morning Papa unveils their presents: a section of vine, nailed to the overhead beam, with homemade rag doll astride, and a drawing board affixed to the rescued "studio" limb, adorned with real paper and willow charcoal. The second child draws a picture to commemorate these events in 1881, and it stays on the family's wall for many years.
This book is exceptional in many ways: the drawings are skillfully evocative, and the text is just right in its level of descriptive detail and emotion. The story compellingly draws its audience in to share the girls' fear as they huddle under the table listening to ice strike their roof, watching Mama feed the fire that keeps the cold at bay. And listeners are disappointed along with the girls when their favorite place to play is destroyed. When the children's joy is restored due through the generous love of their parents, the effect is of a deeply joyful experience of a strong family which chooses to embrace love, hard work, and determination in the face of significant challenges. It's an outstanding addition to the Christmas basket.
This book is exceptional in many ways: the drawings are skillfully evocative, and the text is just right in its level of descriptive detail and emotion. The story compellingly draws its audience in to share the girls' fear as they huddle under the table listening to ice strike their roof, watching Mama feed the fire that keeps the cold at bay. And listeners are disappointed along with the girls when their favorite place to play is destroyed. When the children's joy is restored due through the generous love of their parents, the effect is of a deeply joyful experience of a strong family which chooses to embrace love, hard work, and determination in the face of significant challenges. It's an outstanding addition to the Christmas basket.
July 4, 2009
An old fashioned Christmas with apples decorating the Christmas tree. Mama makes a clove apple as a table decoration. I loved how the family worked together.The children found joy in playing in the apple tree. Simple pleasures that are so memorable.I love modern technology, but would love to go back to this time period for a day and visit. Loved this sweet story and the charming illustrations. It made me cry.
February 5, 2018
Growing up with 2 apple trees in the back yard and a mother who made apple butter I picked this up to read. I definitely felt an afinity for the youngest daughter and her swing. (My father waited until I had outgrown the swing to chop down the climbable apple tree to let more sunlight into our city backyard.)
Probably more of a 3.5, but a nostalgic read for me.
Probably more of a 3.5, but a nostalgic read for me.
September 12, 2009
This is about a family that lives a simple farming life in their barn in the 1800's. A terrible blizzard destroys their beloved apple tree, disappointing the two daughters. But it will still be a nice Christmas!
January 5, 2014
One of my favorite books growing up!
December 13, 2018
I would like to know this family as friends. I see myself dropping by them as neighbors and bringing them a freshly baked loaf of bread.
November 14, 2019
Sweet book showing the love this family had for their apple tree..krb 12/7/16
Read this book again, starting to get in the Christmas spirit...krb 11/13/19
Read this book again, starting to get in the Christmas spirit...krb 11/13/19
December 26, 2017
One of my favorite Christmas books when I was growing up! I still love to reread it every year!
February 18, 2018
Set in Michigan in the 1880s, this is a warm family story, beautifully illustrated, that contains some stories from the author's childhood on a Michigan farm transposed to earlier times.
December 18, 2019
This is a lovely Christmas story. It has sadness and hardship, but also a perfect, satisfying ending. Thank you, Kathryn, for the recommendation! My little boy and I loved reading this together.
December 2, 2025
This was so wonderful and had that pioneer feel. I'm going to buy a hard copy for sure. The cutest illustrations too.
December 4, 2018
Evergreen Christmas school.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews