by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 01, 2010

"On the night before Christmas we always go to find our tree." In "Night Tree," Eve Bunting describes their magical hunt in a forest near town.  It's full of rich, realistic details in both the story and its illustration. "We drive through the bright Christmas streets to where the dark and quiet begin," Bunting writes - and the story is underway.

The littlest girl is so excited that she wears her boots all day - the boots that don't fit - but she's almost asleep when the family finally arrives. The father rolls down the truck's window for the smell of pine trees, and there's a single-sentence paragraph to describe the children's reaction. ("We scramble out.") Bunting lists the trees in the forest - there's oaks and alder and maples. But they're all bare and white in the moonlight, since only the pines and the spruces and the firs are still green.

They see a deer in the night. An owl hoots deep inside the forest. "There are secrets all around us," the narrator says. But her father carries a big red lantern...

And Bunting shares a surprise when they finally locate their tree. It's the same tree as last year. The family just brought popcorn strings to decorate it, plus apples and tangerines on strings. "For weeks we've been making balls of sunflower seeds and pressed millet and honey..."

They're even scattering shelled nuts on the ground for animals, along with breadcrumbs and bits of fruit. The tree looks pretty under the light of the full moon overhead. The mother has brought a thermos of hot chocolate, and they spread a blanket where they can rest and enjoy it. And then the whole family sings Christmas songs together.

It's the details like that which make the story feel special. The littlest girl - Nina - slips out of one oversized boots, but the mother lovingly puts it back on. And for a carol, Nina wants to sing "Old MacDonald had a farm."  Her sister teases that it's not a Christmas song, but the mother says that it's fine, and a very nice song, too...

When they get home, the narrator will remember the pretty tree in the forest - and imagine all the hidden animals coming to claim the treats they've left behind. "Maybe a fox has come, stepping high on its thin, sharp paws, and they're all there together, singing their own Christmas songs..." It's one of the grand things you get to imagine when you leave your tree back in the forest.

"After the last 'E-I-O' we gather up our things and head for the truck."

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