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Reviewed by Jennifer Senick for Readers' Favorite
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…” is the song that flowed through my mind as I was reading Our Christmas Tree Farm by Lisa L. Amstutz. It follows Kate and her loved ones as they have fun getting ready for the holiday season on their Christmas tree farm. She wakes up early, bundles up, and heads outside, leaving Mama and Gram in the kitchen to get some snacks ready for the day. She even helps greet customers and assist them in finding their perfect tree. The story highlights the planning process and the care that goes into growing and harvesting the ideal crop. It also shows the hard work involved in trimming the trees and helping visitors get them to their cars. There’s an information section included at the end with fun facts about Christmas trees and how they’re grown. A charming blend of family tradition and real-world learning that invites young readers to appreciate the effort that goes into their favorite holiday symbol.
Our Christmas Tree Farm by Lisa L. Amstutz felt like I was with Kate, wearing a cozy sweatshirt and vest, out there on the farm picking out my tree with her. I found this book surprisingly informative. As an educator, I found it to have a friendly, almost down-to-earth tone that makes farm life easy for young readers to understand. It could be used as a springboard for class discussions on holiday traditions, how farms operate, and what students would look for in their dream tree. The bonus sections on how to reuse a tree after the holidays are over and the step-by-step page on growing a Christmas tree from a twig were especially interesting. A great extension activity would be to plant a twig to see if the class can get it to grow, as shown in the book. The artwork by Christina Forshay is brightly colored, very detailed, and some scenes even have a magical quality that’s sure to keep anyone engaged. My favorite page is the one with Kate and her dad cutting down the special evergreen that was planted just for her. So, if you’re looking for a read that will have you singing “Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches…” then this is the tale for you.
