The Christmas Pine: the magical tale for Christmas by Julia Donaldson - now in a stunning paperback edition

This is a lovely book with a beautiful story of the Christmas pine based on a true story and beautifully illustrated. Our young granddaughter will like this very much and we'll enjoy sharing it with her. Not just for Christmas but read any time. Very happy with my purchase.. I Recommend it.

Great quality book with a lovely story and gorgeous illustrations.

I bought this because its a book by Julia Donaldson (and because it was half price at the time). We just love her books in out house, and this was no exception. It's a nice little tale about a Christmas tree growing up and travelling from Norway to London. The text isn't too long, so it makes a good read for both my 20month old and 4year old. The illustrations are lovely as always

A lovely little story about a Christmas Pine Tree based on a true story . I bought this for my 5 and 7 year old and they both enjoyed the story and learning about how the tradition of Christmas trees started.

From the dust-jacket front flap (image below refers): 🌲 ‘Deep in a snowy forest stands a little pine tree with a special destiny: when it grows up, it’s going to be a famous Christmas tree! Julia Donaldson’s heartfelt rhyme follows the tree’s journey from the frozen woods to the sparkling city square...’🎄 Based on a true story, the talented JULIA DONALDSON originally wrote ‘The Christmas Pine’ to celebrate the 2020 Christmas tree, the poem performed by schoolchildren and displayed in Trafalgar Square. Accompanying the rhyme is, to my eye, the most amazing atmospheric illustrations from Norwegian illustrator, VICTORIA SANDØY, ‘who lives in Oslo, not far from the forest where the Christmas pines grow’. The current stock images above give an indication of the content to see if it is the style for you and yours...and I am sure the ‘LOOK INSIDE’ facility will be along in the near future. ooOoo One for the forever shelf, IMO, it is a beautifully produced book with matching dust-jacket, the Christmas tree tips & baubles + the titling in a shiny gold colouring that follows through to the spine, all nonchalantly shimmering in the change of light. The quality hardback measures roughly 22.5 cm x 27.75 cm, and opens to 32 matte finish pages, of which the poem runs across 30, in double-page spread format, those gorgeous illustrations offering lots to talk about on every turn. The font is a good size so as not to dominate the pictures. The very last page details the reasons behind the publication (image below refers). [15 images attached ©Julia Donaldson/2020, Victoria Sandøy & Alison Green Books/2021]

The story is a little short. It's the tale of a young pine tree which becomes Norway's annual Christmas gift to the British people. If you simply read straight through by yourself, it lasts just two or three minutes . However, reading to a child, there's the opportunity to discuss the events of the story and talk together about the beautiful illustrations. It's actually quite a tear-jerker too.

It’s a must purchase for Christmas bed time reading

So disappointed by this book. Pre-ordered after listening to the hype but it appears to be a lesser version of The Tree That's Meant To Be. The hardback book is nice, it has a nice dust jacket, those are some positives. Unfortunately there are lots of pages with just one sentence on them so lots of page turning for not much story. The graphics are also disappointing, some pages seem really embellished and are great with lots to look at and talk about with the little ones, then there are others where it seems they've just not bothered very much, so with not much writing on a page and not many good pictures...... The search for the 2021 Christmas book for our house continues :-(

Un libro davvero bello

Lovely story. Great for English lessons as well.

Love this book. The story is great and an easy read. Gives off a magical feeling. Fast delivery. 5 out of 5.

Preciosa historia e ilustraciones, muy recomendable

This was the first year my 3 yr old clone phew had a Christmas tree at home and he loved it and the idea of it. The story of Christmas trees growing wild in Norway, travelling to London and being decorated for Trafalgar Square was a strange and lovely one. The illustrations are beautiful.