Branches of Hope

Book excerpt: “Poetic and meditative, this true-life fable about a tree that survived 9/11 commemorates the attack while evoking a resilient spirit and the healing power of nature. Ann Magee’s spare and lyrical text and Nicole Wong’s soft-edged art afford ample space for young readers to reflect, to hope and to envision a future where peace takes root.” —Carole Boston Weatherford, author of Newbery Honor book BOX “Branches of Hope is a tribute to resilience and hope, a gentle way to talk with our youngest readers about the memory of 9/11.” —Kate Messner, author of The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs The branches of the 9/11 Survivor Tree poked through the rubble at Ground Zero. They were glimpses of hope in the weeks after September 11, 2001. Remember and honor the events of 9/11 and celebrate how hope appears in the midst of hardship. The Survivor Tree found at Ground Zero was rescued, rehabilitated, and then replanted at the 9/11 Memorial site in 2011. This is its story. In this moving tribute to a city and its people, a wordless story of a young child accompanies the tree's history. As the tree heals, the girl grows into an adult, and by the 20th anniversary of 9/11, she has become a firefighter like her first-responder uncle. A life-affirming introduction to how 9/11 affected the United States and how we recovered together.