O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Red and Lulu
Written & Illustrated by Matt Tavares
Age Level: 2-7 Years
Published September 19, 2017

I swear it was here just a second ago.

When I was a teenager, my older sisters lived in New York City. My parents and I frequently visited them, and our pre-Christmas trip in December was my favorite. I loved strolling along the streets while the snow fell, taking in the extravagant holiday window displays at Saks Fifth Avenue, and wandering across the street to Rockefeller Center with its magnificent tree. Red and Lulu transports me to that spectacular setting of Christmastime in Manhattan every time I read it.

Red and Lulu are a pair of cardinals who happily live in an enormous spruce tree, which grows in the front yard of a humble house in the suburbs. One morning, Red flies off to get food, and when he returns he is horrified to discover that the tree has been cut down and tied to the back of a truck. Refusing to abandon his tree and Lulu, who is hidden in a hollow in the trunk, Red follows the truck as far as he can, until he loses track of it in the confusing landscape of New York City. A true Christmas miracle, Red ultimately finds Lulu and the tree, resplendent in Rockefeller Center, the glittering holiday centerpiece of the city.

“Red and Lulu were happy in their tree and watched with pride as hundreds of thousands of people marveled at its beauty.”

I learned from the Author’s Note that the tradition of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree began in 1931 when construction workers erected a 20-foot tree and decorated it with whatever they could find. Norway spruce trees are usually chosen as the iconic tree, and because they’re not a native species, they are typically found in people’s front yards where they were planted decades ago. In keeping with the holiday spirit of giving, once the tree is taken down in January, it is donated to Habitat for Humanity to build homes for families in need. I can't think of a happier ending than that.