Telephone of the Tree
-
- Pre-Order
-
- Expected 7 May 2024
-
- 8,99 €
-
- Pre-Order
-
- 8,99 €
Publisher Description
An unforgettable story of grief and the support of community as a young girl, faced with aching loss, begins to understand that what we love will always be with us.
Ayla and her best friend Kiri have always been tree people. They each have their own special tree, and neighbors and family know that they are most likely to be found within the branches. But after an accident on their street, Kiri has gone somewhere so far away that Ayla can only wait and wait in her birch, longing to be able to talk with Kiri again.
Then a mysterious, old-fashioned telephone appears one morning, nestled in the limbs of Ayla's birch tree. Where did it come from? she wonders. And why are people showing up to use this phone to call their loved ones? Especially loved ones who have passed on.
All Ayla wants is for Kiri to come home. Until that day comes, she will keep Kiri's things safe. She'll keep her nightmares to herself. And she will not make a call on that telephone.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McGhee (Dear Brother) injects a speculative twist to this tender tale about death and grief. Most of the trees on 10-year-old Ayla's block were "planted to celebrate new babies." Ayla and her best friend Kiri always reveled in their connections to their trees—a river birch and white pine, respectively—caring for them and spending time nestled within their branches, encouraging each other to "dream big." When Kiri suddenly disappears, Ayla convinces herself that Kiri will be home for their 11th birthday in three weeks. Then an old-fashioned telephone mysteriously appears in Ayla's tree, and her astute grandfather suggests that "maybe it's there just in case you want to call someone," an idea that Ayla rejects, though it seems to bring comfort to others in the community: five-year-old neighbor Gentleman calls his deceased gecko, and a grieving husband phones his late wife. As Kiri's birthday draws near, Ayla grows tired of resisting the shattering truth behind their disappearance. Employing spare, sensory language, McGhee explores the painful negative space created by loss and the devastation of a friendship cut short, as well as the healing found in moving forward while remembering that "there's more... so much more." Characters are described as having varying skin tones. Ages 8–12.
