The Boy Who Grew A Tree - Polly Ho-Yen

 

When Timmi's mum begins sending him to after-school club, he meets a new group of people who decide they are going to head back to the old library in town which recently closed down.  Timmi is the only one brave enough to actually enter but what he finds inside makes him incredibly pleased he did: growing from the floor of the deserted building is the first shoot of a plant.  Watering it, Timmi promises to return and, when he does, he discovers that it has grown far more than he expected.  As Timmi continues to love and water the plant, he realises that it is growing into a tree, but when he hears that the building is about to be demolished to make way for new flats, he realises he has to do something to protect it.  Can Timmi do enough to stop the demolition?

Timmi is a wonderful character who is true to himself right the way through the book.  His love of growing things is evident from the start and is what leads him to love and care for the shoot he finds.  He's struggling to understand the change in his family with his mum having had a baby, and the building becomes an escape for him - this is perfect for young children whose families are expanding.  Above all, Timmi's kind and caring nature shines through; he is gentle and loving, and helps us all to fall in love with the idea of going to the library again.

With 117 pages, The Boy Who Grew A Tree is the perfect book for young children who are just moving on to chapter books.  With gorgeous illustrations from Sojung Kim-McCarthy, this book is the perfect addition to KS1 and lower KS2.