Peace Tree from Hiroshima

May 4, 2015
First-time author Moore draws from the story of a centuries-old bonsai tree that was donated to the United States for the 1976 bicentennial. The miniature white pine, she explains, became known as the Peace Tree, “because it is a symbol of friendship between Japan and America.” The tree narrates its journey, beginning with its birth in an island forest “nearly four hundred years ago” where it is collected and subsequently tended to by a man named Otaro. An elderly Otaro gives the bonsai to his son, who passes it to his son, and so on. “In 1945, something terrible happened,” the tree says as Wilds (All About Japan) shows a tiny airplane on an page streaked with dark purples and grays; the next pages show a vast expanse of beige rubble, the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima. The tree and its caretaker survived, and Moore goes on to trace the bonsai’s path to the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. Closing notes separate fact from fiction and discuss the art of bonsai in this straightforward but affecting tribute to patience, dedication, and a generosity of spirit that surmounted tragedy. Ages 8–up.

August 1, 2015

K-Gr 2-Based on actual events, this picture book tells the story of an almost 400-year-old bonsai tree that survived the Hiroshima bombing. The small pine tree began its life on the beautiful forested island of Miyajima, near Hiroshima. A man named Itaro found the tree and carefully removed it, as "a souvenir of this island, of the trees that touched my heart." Itaro cared for it for 50 years and shaped it into a bonsai tree. Itaro's family continued to look after the tree for generations. Eventually the family moved to Hiroshima, and when the first atomic bomb was dropped, it exploded just two miles from their home. Somehow the family survived the terrible devastation and resumed their routine, including caring for their bonsai. In 1976, Masaru, a devoted caretaker of the tree since before the war, chose to give the plant as part of a special bicentennial gift to the United States. The little bonsai ended up at the National Arboretum, where the staff deemed it the Peace Tree. Presented against a crisp white background, the attractive illustrations add details and context. Told in the first person from the tree's point of view, this gentle story can be used as a simple introduction to an aspect of Japanese culture and a difficult moment in history. Facts about bonsai trees round out the book. VERDICT This slight but clearly told story would be a fine additional purchase to supplement cultural studies of Japan.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

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