The Very Oldest Pear Tree

by Nancy I. Sanders, Yas Imamura (Illustrator)

Overview

The fascinating history of a tree that's older than our nation.

In the 1630s in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Puritan settler planted a pear tree—the first pear tree in America. More than a century later, the tree still bore fruit, impressing a famous poet and one of the first US presidents. The pear tree survived hurricanes, fire, and vandalism, and today, more than 350 years after it was first planted, it's alive and strong, and clones of it grow all around the US. This is the amazing true story of the Endicott Pear tree, and how it grew up with our nation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807566800
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	08/01/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD990L (what's this?)
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nancy I. Sanders has written over 80 books for children, including Jane Austen for Kids. She lives with her family in California.
Yas Imamura is the acclaimed artist of picture books such as Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Winged Wonders by Meeg Pincus, and The Very Oldest Pear Tree by Nancy I. Sanders. She currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. You can visit her at yasimamura.com
 

Editorial Reviews

"The illustrations are charming and the text is pleasantly readable."—School Library Journal

The Original Art 2020

From the Publisher

07/31/2020

K-Gr 3—Sanders presents the story of the first pear tree planted in America. In 1630, the sapling crossed the Atlantic Ocean with white colonizers who were sailing to present-day Massachusetts. More than 350 years later, the tree still stands, growing and bearing fruit. From its early days as a young tree in Governor Endecott's garden to growing quietly behind a factory in the 1950s, this pear tree has impressed and inspired presidents and poets, and its story is still being written today. The illustrations are charming and the text is pleasantly readable, but the total absence of any mention of Native American tribes or their relationship to the colonizers of Massachusetts is distracting. In a book about the land and the origins of America, the absence of Indigenous voices and perspectives supports a one-sided narrative of early America without the full scope of its legacy of colonialism. The author's note briefly mentions the Indigenous community but does not focus on their lack of inclusion in the text: "While the Endicott pear tree is certainly not the first tree planted in North America—Native Americans and European settlers had planted trees before—the Endicott tree is significant for having such a long recorded history." Further reading lists two websites. VERDICT A charmingly illustrated but light addition for public libraries; best presented with additional resources for historical context.—Savannah Kitchens, Parnell Memorial Lib., Montevallo, AL

School Library Journal