The Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale

By Elena Pasquali and Sophie Windham

Featuring beautiful illustrations from Tim Jonke, The Tale of Three Trees is a bestselling classic children's book inspired by a traditional folktale that tells the story of Jesus's life from a new and unusual point of view.

That of three trees, who discuss what they want to become when they grow up. When they are felled, it seems as if all their dreams are over. But their wishes come true in a way they never expected, each tree is destined to play an important part in key events of Jesus's life.

A moving folktale about Jesus's life for children, The Tale of Three Trees can also be shared out loud with the whole family. Perfect for Easter, Christmas, and a baby dedication gift. Both children and adults will be deeply touched by the beautiful message of the book, that even when life doesn't seem to be going our way, God has a plan for us and works for His good through all things.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lion Children's Bks
• Release date: Feb 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9780745967202

Elena Pasquali

Elena Pasquali worked for some years in children's publishing before becoming an author in her own right. She has a special interest in researching and retelling folk tales from around the world. She enjoys exploring new cultures and learning new languages that will help her understand those cultures better.

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Reviews for The Three Trees

[sar96-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent children's book!

[tiinaj1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Three Trees is the story that tells the story of the birth, the life and the death of Christ. It's basically the story of how 3 trees grew up and then were cut down. The first one wished for riches, the second wished for power and to be made into a proud ship to carry a mighty king and the third only wanted to point the way to heaven. As they are made into a cradle, a small boat and into boards left in the weather each thinks it's dreams are over. Very simply written, each illustration beautifully shows the story and combined both tell the story so both children and adults can learn and understand what Christ did for each person on this earth.It is so hard to write a description that won't give away the story completely - One of the things I loved about the illustrations is that the opening of the story begins with the artists rendition of "the 4 seasons" which is one of my favorite pieces of art by almost all artists. I also loved how the story is written from the view of a tree - what a different concept and since the look of a tree never changes everyone can identify with something they have seen no matter where they live in this world (not everyone knows what a manger is, or has been on a boat or even seen what a cross looks like). Every family should have a copy of this book on their coffee table. It's perfect for Christmas, Easter and any other day of the year.

[theloopylibrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What are most outstanding about this rendition of The Three Trees are the beautiful illustrations. The colors are vibrant and the images are action packed with emotive animals everywhere. I also like the telling of the story in that the sentence structure was simple, perfect for a young child to read. I happen to own Angela Hunt’s retelling of the same story, so I compared it to Pasquali’s. Of the two, Hunt captures the emotional punch of the tale best in her words, but the wording is lengthy. Pasquali loses some of the emotional punch in simplifying the story, however this is more than made up for in the illustrations. It is a true picture book in that it relies more on the illustrations than on the words to tell the tale. This is what grabs the attention of children. The Three Trees is an emotional folktale that takes the reader through the life of Christ through the point of view of three trees. It is a lovely tale, and this is a very well-crafted version suitable for all ages. It will be one that children ask for over and over again because each illustration has so much to see, and it tells the story of Jesus in a way in which children can understand. It’s a gorgeous book. Really striking!