The Tale of Three Trees

Three trees all have grand wishes for their future. Once they get cut down, they all think their wishes aren't going to come true until each of them is used for something relevant to Christ's life (the manger, a boat, and the cross) and they realize they were put to the best use after all. I can't decide if I think this (apparently traditional?) tale is clever and kind of lovely or a bit icky and awful. I'm leaning toward icky and awful, though I'm not sure I can unpack why. Putting that aside for further thinking, perhaps.

I'm not sure what I expected, but this exceeded all expectations. The three trees each play a crucial part in the life of Jesus. It is a lovely illustration of the three answers to prayer: Yes, not yet, and I have something better planned for you. The art does the story justice.

I do have to issue a tissue warning. I did tear up toward the end.

Highly recommended for Christian families.

The Tale of Three Trees tells us of three trees with big dreams. One wants to be a treasure chest, one wants to be a mighty ship, and one wants to stay where he is and point to heaven. When woodsmen cut them down, the first becomes a manger, the second becomes a fishing boat, and the third becomes a beam, and they all learn that their dreams have come true, for they each hold the Savior of the world in a different way. I like to include this with my Christmas books because it reminds me of the true treasures of the Season.

Three trees dreamed of becoming something special. The first wanted to become a beautiful treasure chest--holding beautiful treasures. The second dreamed of becoming a strong sailing ship. The last wanted to stay on the mountaintop and grow tall to point people to heaven. Well, their tree-dreams weren't granted, but their purpose was filled beyond any dream a tree could fathom. In the end, the first held Jesus when he was born (a manger), the second held Jesus when he calmed the storm (fishing boat), and the third was held by Jesus in the midst of a jeering crowd (the cross).

I absolutely loved this story. I chose to re-read the book and post it as a review because it brought back warm feelings of my seventh grade Sunday School teacher show more sharing this story with my class. The paintings/illustrations are beautiful and the theme lends a perfect learning lesson--sometimes what we have planned for ourselves is much less than what God has planned for us.

In the classroom, I would use this story to introduce a vocabulary lesson introducing the words: aspirations, dreams, plans, goals, etc. Each student could build their own vocabulary tree. This story could also introduce a dream project. Each student could, without restrictions, make up their story of what they want to become or do for someone else. show less

A beautiful retelling of the the tale of three trees. One tree wants to hold precious treasure, one wants to bea strong sailing ship, and the third wants to be the tallest tree in the world. They are all felled achieve what they dreamed of, though not in the way they expected. Conveys simply beauty symbolic theology of the life of Christ.

A beautiful retelling of the the tale of three trees. One tree wants to hold precious treasure, one wants to bea strong sailing ship, and the third wants to be the tallest tree in the world. They are all felled achieve what they dreamed of, though not in the way they expected. Conveys simply beauty symbolic theology of the life of Christ.

The Tale of Three trees is a cute story and I like it for two reasons. The first thing I like is the criticle thought it could spark. The lessons given to the trees in this story could easily be applied to children. Children with their wild imaginations need to be taught to pursue your dreams, however they may not always appear exactly how you imagined it. The second thing I like is the illustrations. The color pencil style art gives a rustic feel to the environment of the tale that I really like. There is also really nothing fancy about the drawings either, and appear very realistic. This realism I feel allows a mich better connection to the story which is very crucial for young readers. For those who may still be struggling in show more English, the illustrations can very much be a tool to help them understand the message and feel of the story. The main idea of this story is that while it's to good to pursue your dreams, your achievmwnt of them may not appear as you expect. Overall I enjoy this story it's cute, definitely could spark good conversation with a child, and would definitely recommend it as a family book show less