The Elm Tree and Three Sisters

By Norma Sommerdorf

Growing up on their midwestern farm, Mary, Mabel, and Molly can see to the flat horizon in all directions. "What this place needs is a tree," they decide, and so they plant a tiny elm. Over the years... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670893080
• ISBN13: 9780670893089
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.3" x 0.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A lovely, gently told story

Norma Sommerdorf's An Elm Tree and Three Sisters is gentle tale. It is the story of three girls growing up on a farm in the midwest. Surround by acres of treeless prairie, they go in search of just the right tree to plant near their home. The girls and their tree grow up together, and the tree remains a part of their lives in one form or another throughout the story. This story is even more meaningful when we discover it is based on actual events. It will appeal to anyone who has ever had a favorite tree for climbing, for picnicking beneath, for napping in its shade.

A friendly review

Sommerdorf, Norma. An Elm Tree and Three Sisters. Illus. Erika Weihs. New York:Viking, 2001.Three young sisters live on a farm where they help their mother and father plant gardens, milk the cows, and feed chickens in An Elm Tree and Three Sisters. One day, when the three sisters decide they need a tree for their yard, they hitch up a horse and wagon, and off they go. They find a small tree near a stream, take it back to their house, and plant it in the middle of the yard so that they can watch it grow as the years pass. The three sisters find that the tree becomes an important part of their lives as they grow older.An Elm Tree and Three Sisters is a great book for preschool age children. The book sends the message that getting along with others can be lots of fun no matter what you are doing, even if it is finding a tree to plant in the yard. Another message that readers can gather from reading this book is that something as simple as a tree can bring family members together as the years go by. The illustrations in the book go right along with the text, giving a young child who may not know all of the words an idea of what is happening. This book could grab young children's attention because of all the different colors used in the illustrations. Illustrations appear on every page, starting with the picture on the cover of a big tree and three young children swinging and playing under it.

A completely beautiful book.

My daughter received this book for her 5th birthday. Our whole family loves it, as will you if you buy it, I guarantee! The pictures are sweet and the story is poignant and lovely; it will have you wiping away a little tear at the end. It is the perfect bedtime story-- not too long or short, and a restful but engaging read.