Dear Baobab

K-Gr 3—Maiko used to live in a village in Africa. He misses his home and the 2000-year-old baobab tree beneath which he and other village children sat eating cashew nuts, and where no one teased him about his big ears. Now, since the death of his parents, the lonely child lives in what appears to be a North American city "surrounded by low, rolling hills." He likes to sit on the stone steps outside his red brick house where a little spruce tree has sprung up beneath the mailbox. It is seven years old, the same age as Maiko. He loves the little tree and imagines that he can hear it calling his name, and he shares his secrets with it. When its roots begin to threaten the foundation of the house, something needs to be done. About the same time, a saw and axe appear and Maiko hides them. Nothing further is mentioned about their disappearance. With time Maiko grows more comfortable with his new home, school, and classmates and, as Christmas draws near, his uncle and aunt say that the spruce will make a good Christmas tree. Maiko is upset. He knows what it means "to be small and planted in the wrong place." He finally confides how he feels to his uncle, who tells him, "It will get better, Nephew." A solution is worked out that ties together the beginning and end of the story. The tree is moved and replanted elsewhere, just as Maiko has been. Leng's colorful, cartoonlike watercolor illustrations impart a sense of warmth and emotion to this story of a child's bewildering sense of loss and loneliness, as well as new beginnings.—Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH