Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree
Written & Illustrated by Robert Barry
Age Level: 2-7 Years
Published January 1, 1963

Don’t let that go to waste!

Watch how one oversized Christmas tree ends up bringing joy to seven different families.

Mr. Willowby needs a grand tree to sit in the parlor of his grand house, but the one he receives is too tall for even his soaring ceilings to hold. He calls his butler to chop off the top, and there ensues a delightful domino effect where subsequent families are each presented with the treetop, find it slightly too big, snip off the tip, and pass it along. In the end, Mr. Willowby’s castoff treetop is whittled into trees for his maid, his gardener, a family of bears, foxes, rabbits, and even some mice who live right within his own walls.

“Oh, wasn’t it grand to have a tree —
Exactly like Mr. Willowby?”

With its cheerful rhyming cadence, this book is a fun and festive read aloud. It also provides a great opportunity to reinforce the importance of giving, of not being wasteful, or to discuss the adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” In the spirit of giving, many of us are trying to bring joy this holiday season to as many families as we can through philanthropy, and hopefully we are spreading happiness as successfully as Mr. Willowby and his endless evergreen.



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