And in the thoughtful care of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Callery pear was nursed back to health. But a month after tragedy struck, a shocking discovery was made at Ground Zero: the tree had survived.ĭubbed the “Survivor Tree,” it was moved to the Bronx to recover. The tree’s home was destroyed, and it was buried under the rubble. On September 11, 2001, everything changed. Over the years, the tree provided a home for birds and shade for people looking for a place to rest, along with the first blooms of spring. In 1973, nestled between the newly completed Twin Towers in New York City, a Callery pear tree was planted. This Very Tree: A Story of Resilience, Community, and 9/11 by Sean Rubin (May 4) But I won’t be reading any of them myself. So I’ll buy all the books about 9/11 that the community wants and needs, and I’m sure at least a few of them will do children a good service by teaching them about something that defined the world they were born into. When I buy books for the library, of course, my personal feelings don’t matter. Sorry for the language, Mom – there’s no better way to put it. We’re already dealing with half a million Americans dead from the pandemic, and being called to affirmatively “remember” an act of extreme violence that is etched on my entire generation’s consciousness sucks pretty hard. I’m personally dreading the glut of books, social media, and other paraphernalia commemorating 20 years since the attack (it feels weird to call it an anniversary, like a bunch of people got married that day instead of murdered). Are three books on this very specific tree necessary? Maybe they are all genuinely good books. Times like these I often find myself wondering if publishers ever talk to each other.

Two of them are even publishing the same month – May. This is a gentle and hopeful way to introduce a really tough topic to small children, so it makes sense authors would choose it.

Of course, children’s publishing (and publishing in general) loves anniversaries of things, so you can bet there are going to be a ton of picture books tied in some way to 9/11.įunnily enough, though, the first few I’ve noticed are all about one very specific thing: the 9/11 “survivor tree,” a pear tree that survived the attacks (albeit with some permanent damage) and was replanted at the Memorial in 2010.

Being of an age to have watched this event unfold in real time, this “anniversary” is something I usually choose to ignore every year. Written by: Kimberly Francisco on March 17, 2021.

Branches of Hope by Ann Magee