At the Welcome Tree

At the Welcome Tree was written to help children (and all who read it) to understand three essential life lessons: the importance of helping those in a crisis, the prudence of hospitality, and the beauty that comes from living together in unity. Using animals of the forest to tell the story, the book centers on Mr. Owl who welcomes a variety of animals whose homes were lost in a fire. He invites them to live together in the tree where he lives. At first, the animals are confused since they did not live with those unlike themselves, but with loving encouragement they finally come together, and the tree becomes the most beautiful of all.