Kate Seredy is an amazing author and she wrote this book in October of 1941. Her style has lyrical quality and she paints such pictures for the mind it leaves you in awe, if not in love with her. Not only does she write beautifully, she has illustrated this book herself and her MANY illustrations are exquisite with her use of light and expression.
This book is a story of hope in a place where there seemed to be none. It is also a story about a boy who overcomes his fears and how the change in his perspective has a ripple effect on the people around him.
“'You see, Prince Peter,' said Peter the tramp, with a smile, 'we didn't run from this shadow and we found that it was nothing but a homeless dog wanting a little kindness.'"
Peter's fears turn into blessings for him. I love this because God's desire for us is not to live in fear, but to overcome and see the world through His eyes. I think this story so beautifully illustrates this.
A Christmas Story?
It does have a small section about a tree, a little Christmas tree and a few carols are sung, but there is no reason to save this book for that time of the year alone. The book is beautiful in word, picture and thought and is one that will only enrich your life and the lives of your children.
One caution for parents...Little Peter is very trusting of a stranger and doesn't tell his mother about it. I think when you see this in light of the context of the book it is meaningful and life changing for Peter, but it's a good opportunity to bring up boundaries and being wise with those we don't know to our children. I think it also shows to people in our time (remember she wrote this in the 40's) that sometimes reaching out and building relationships can be far more rewarding than living in fear of those we don't know or understand.
In my view, A Tree for Peter is a must have! I hope you love it.
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Peter-Kate-Seredy/dp/1930900805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546086696&sr=8-1&keywords=a+tree+for+peter+kate+seredy
This is a book that I chose to invest in a hardcover.
Keeping a running list of the books I want to purchase on Amazon.com, Ebay.com, and Thriftbooks.com has proved helpful to nabbing good deals. Thriftbooks even has a feature that will e-mail you when a book on your list is available, you can turn this function on and off per each item on your list. It's truly helpful for those hard to find books.
Also, the website www.bookfinder.com is a wonderful resource that will scour the internet for you and list books from price low to high (with shipping included).
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