The Together Tree written by Aisha Saeed and illustrated by LeUyen Pham is a story about schoolchildren, bad behavior, hurt feelings and
the road to acceptance for a new boy by the name of Rumi.
When Rumi meets his new classmates their eyes stare at his differences including his white shoes on which there were pictures of rainbows and balloons. When the class goes outside to play Asher finds Rumi all alone under a willow tree playing with a stick. Asher yells at Rumi and tells him his shoes are ugly. While in music class the aggressive Asher throws a fist full of dirty paper at Rumi’s shoes. When recess comes around again Rumi stays under the shelter of a lovely willow tree. But the bullying continues as Asher throws a stone at Rumi, causing him to cry.
At this point one of the classmates by the name of Han speaks up and befriends Rumi. “I was wondering if, maybe, if it was okay, I could play with you.” The story shows how important it is to intervene when bullying takes place.
A beautiful illustration reveals what Rumi had been drawing with a stick in the sand----namely, gorgeous pictures of magical lions, pretty birds, mermaids, dragons, horses, and castles. This illustration surrounded by the willow tree’s protective leaves and with Han and Ella looking on in astonishment is outstanding! The whole class then joins the drawing fun including Asher.
The Together Tree written by Aisha Saeed and illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner LeUyen Pham is a unique story wherein the bully not only apologies but the one having been bulled extends his hand to the bully in friendship. Perfect storytelling for children 4-8 years of age (Simon and Schuster, 2023).
The Children’s Bookshelf is a production of WCMU. Links to the podcast and the Activity Questions can be found at Children’s Bookshelf dot org.
Activity Questions for The Together Tree.
Younger readers: Look at the first illustration that shows the children outside during recess. Then, find each child and answer the following questions. Who is going down the slide? Where is the girl running behind the slide going? Who is about to kick a soccer ball? Find a child eating an apple? Find Han. Who is Han playing tag with? Find Rumi. Where is he sitting? Why is Rumi there all alone?
Older readers: Study the illustration of the picture that Rumi was drawing in the sand under the Together Tree. Find the castle, the dragon, the lion, the horse, clouds, and the mermaid. These beautiful images look like they could be from cultural stories Rumi has heard. Zero in on the image of the dragon, draw your own picture of the dragon and then give it a fantastic name.
How did Han’s interfere and stop the bullying? What did Asher do to apologize for his bad actions? What did Rumi do to relieve Asher’s shame?
