Night Tree (Realistic Fiction)

Night Tree was written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Ted Rand. It was published by Scholastic Inc. in 1991 and is recommended for second grade.

A boy and his family go out to the woods every year for Christmas and find the same tree. They decorate the tree with bread, apples, and other foods for the animals; then they sit beside it and sing Christmas songs.

Night Tree is good realistic fiction because it's a family-themed story that shows a happy family spending time together for the holiday. Even though they seem to be a perfect family, the little sister in the story "doesn't like to be left out," and the big brother makes fun of his sister's song choice just like any real siblings would. The characters were very convincing. This story is enjoyable and suitable for young children, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a good Christmas story.

Ted Rand's illustrations enhanced Night Tree with beautiful watercolor pictures that harmonized with the text of the story. Along with watercolors, chalk and grease pencil were used making the perfect combination to create the visuals. The dark greens and reds really gave the story the "Christmasy" feel it needed.

 

The best time to read this book to a class would be at Christmas! After reading it aloud, I'd read a short story about what my family does as a Christmas tradition; then after they'd seen my example, they'd write their own. Actions, thoughts, and feelings about their specific tradition should be included, and they should use words like "first," "next," and "finally" to move through their story smoothly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.3
Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.