12 Days of Picture Books - Little Tree Review

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Have you been following the awesome giveaways and reviews going on over at the Penguin Young Reader's facebook page?  If not, you're missing out! Every day for 12 days, Penguin is giving away copies of some amazing books. Head over to enter now! 

The book that we are reviewing today is Little Tree by Loren Long.

From Penguin: In the middle of a little forest, there lives a Little Tree who loves his life and the splendid leaves that keep him cool in the heat of long summer days. Life is perfect just the way it is.

Autumn arrives, and with it the cool winds that ruffle Little Tree’s leaves. One by one the other trees drop their leaves, facing the cold of winter head on. But not Little Tree—he hugs his leaves as tightly as he can. Year after year Little Tree remains unchanged, despite words of encouragement from a squirrel, a fawn, and a fox, his leaves having long since turned brown and withered. As Little Tree sits in the shadow of the other trees, now grown sturdy and tall as though to touch the sun, he remembers when they were all the same size. And he knows he has an important decision to make.

From #1 New York Times bestselling Loren Long comes a gorgeously-illustrated story that challenges each of us to have the courage to let go and to reach for the sun.

What we thought: 

Ok. I'm going to be honest. This book was incredibly emotional to me! It truly is a gorgeous story with SO much meaning. On the surface, it's a lovely little story to read to kids during an Autumn or leaf themed unit. However, for the adult reading it, it has so much more behind it. The tale of the little tree who refuses to shed its leaves and therefore gets left behind by all of the other trees makes such a poignant statement of the importance of breaking out of your comfort zone in order to flourish. The little tree must take a risk in order to succeed and move forward in life! This is a fabulous lesson for kids and adults alike. I dare you to try to read it without shedding a tear! 

Interested in seeing what our fellow bloggers have to say about these titles? Head to these blogs to read reviews of different Penguin Young Reader books, as well as get a different perspective on the ones we've reviewed! 

http://sleepingshouldbeeasy.com/	Sleeping Should Be Easy
http://www.houseofburkeblog.com/	House of Burke (THAT'S US!)
http://homegrownfriends.com/	Homegrown Friends
http://www.growingupmadison.com	Growing Up Madison
http://inrandom.com/	InRandom
http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com	Crafty Moms Share
http://insatiablereaders.blogspot.com/	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
http://inspirationlaboratories.com/	Inspiration Laboratories
http://www.clarkscondensed.com/	Clarks Condensed
http://bookrockbetty.com/	Book Rock Betty
http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/	Kid Lit Frenzy
http://boredmommyblog.com/	Bored Mommy
http://www.delightful.life/	The Delightful Life
http://www.readsandrecipes.com/	Reads and Recipes
http://omazingkidsllc.com/	Omazing Kids
http://www.kidscreativechaos.com/	KidsCreative Chaos
http://www.thechirpingmoms.com/	The Chirping Moms
http://cuteeverything.com/	Hello Happy
http://www.sparkandpook.com/	Spark and Pook
http://funhandprintartblog.com/	Fun Handprint Art
http://www.mamasmiles.com/	Mama Smiles
http://craftulate.com/	Craftulate
http://imaginationsoup.net	Imagination Soup
http://totsandme.blogspot.com/	Tots and Me
http://www.designofthepicturebook.com/	Design of the Picture Book
http://www.gravitybread.com/	Gravity Bread
http://www.creativefamilyfun.net/	Creative Family Fun
http://www.futureflyingsaucers.com/about/	Future Flying Saucers
http://www.sightandsoundreading.com/	Mrs. Karle's Sight and Sound Reading
http://jamonkey.com/	JaMonkey
http://coquette.blogs.com/maman/	Coquette Maman
http://growingbookbybook.com/	Growing Book by Book
http://tabanderika.blogspot.com/	A Little Bit of Everything
http://happilyevermom.com/	Happily Ever Mom
http://littleearthlingblog.com/	Little Earthling
http://www.thelittletourist.com/	The Little Tourist

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