My Sister the Apple Tree: A Refugee Story of Hope and Resilience

A child narrator’s personal attachment to a beloved tree deepens this unique narrative of literally carrying roots from one’s homeland. When a family’s goat gives birth to twins, the young protagonist, mourning not having anyone to play with, complains. “On the day you were born,” Scott (Angela’s Glacier) and Saeed (My Road from Damascus, for adults) write in Mom’s voice, “we planted that apple tree in our front yard. You and the tree are twins. The apple tree is your sister.” That night, the narrator tucks a blanket around the tree and sleeps with the window open to hear “my sister’s leaves snore in the wind”; during the day, “I put toys on her roots, and we’d play together.” But when war grows close and the family must leave, the narrator insists on digging up and carrying the tree. Watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations from Marwan (Sakina and the Uninvited Guests) render the family, portrayed with pale skin and black hair, in tight inky lines, while the tree and the landscape flow with saturated colors, daubed strokes, and vivid washes in dark blues and lemon yellows. Tender care grounds a symbolic concept with conviction in this heartfelt picture book. Creators’ notes conclude. Ages 4–8. Authors’ agents: (for Saeed) Chris Casuccio, Westwood Creative Artists; (for Scott) Hilary McMahon, Westwood Creative Artists. Illustrator’s agent: Anne Moore Armstrong, Bright Agency. (Sept.)