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Pick a Pine Tree

Patricia Toht,

Jarvis (Illustrator)

4.16 · Rating details · 796 ratings · 154 reviews

A festive read-aloud brimming with all the joy and excitement of Christmastime -- beginning, of course, with picking out a tree!
Part of the magic of the Christmas season stems from the traditions that families and friends take part in every year: hanging up stockings; putting lights in the windows; and, one of the most important of all, picking out and taking home the Chr ...more

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Hardcover, 40 pages

Published September 19th 2017 by Candlewick Press (first published September 17th 2017)

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Community Reviews

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Average rating 4.16 ·

Rating details

· 796 ratings · 154 reviews

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Dec 16, 2018 Calista rated it liked it

Shelves: bage-children, sub-snow, genre-beginner, genre-drama-tragedy, 2017, diversity, genre-comedy, genre-fantasy, holiday, genre-poetry-prose-rhyming

This is a rhyming story for very young children about the holiday and putting up a tree for Christmas. The Artwork was colorful, very bright which I like, but the people look strange. It was ok. There was diversity here, a little. It is a simple story, not much here for adults reading.

The kids are a little old for this book and they thought it was ok. The nephew gave it 3 stars and the niece, who is hard on books she thinks are too ‘baby’ for her, gave it 2 stars. It’s a nice story and I appreci ...more

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Nov 14, 2017 Whispering Stories rated it really liked it

Book reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com

Pick a Pine Tree is about a family going to choose their Christmas tree. From taking it home, choosing where to put it, which decorations to put on it, to then putting it up for the Christmas holiday’s and enjoying it. The book covers everything that goes into getting that perfect tree.

Whether it is just me, but where I live, although there are places to go and choose a real pine tree (local ones are normally in pub car parks), they are nothing ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Nov 11, 2018 Ivy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: christmas-books, childrens-books

I really loved this book. It's a wonderful, whimsical tale of a family choosing a Christmas tree and bringing it home to decorate it. The illustrations are gorgeous, the rhyming is beautifully written and there's so much diversity depicted by the illustrator in the family and their friends. It's absolutely beautiful - everything about this book. It gets you in the right Christmas mood. It's also a perfect Christmas gift. I really enjoyed this.

...more

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Dec 09, 2017 Kathryn rated it really liked it

Shelves: childrens-chapter-books, christmas

Amazing, wonderful, whimsical and oh, so Christmasy.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 23, 2021 April added it

Shelves: childrens

Lovely aesthetic with rhymes that I don’t mind. A good read to remember for next year.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2017 Alex Baugh rated it really liked it

Shelves: picture-book, family, christmas

The anticipatory excitement of picking out a Christmas tree, buying it, and taking it home to decorate is captured perfectly in this story about a family of four as they set off on their tree buying day. At home, the furniture is moved around, the trunk of the tree is trimmed to fit the stand, and the decorations are brought down from the attic. When everything is ready, the family hosts a decorating party, inviting all their friends to help trim the tree with bright lights, jolly Santas, dancin ...more

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Nov 26, 2017 Brenda Kahn rated it really liked it

Shelves: picture-book-month-2017, story-in-rhyme, 2017-picture-book, 2017-reading, christmas, christmas-trees

The cover of this bouncy little Christmas picture book sure is pretty! Literally wrapped up with a sparkly, red bow and featuring lush and lovely pine trees. When I first considered the cover, I thought it might be similar to a holiday favorite at my house, Night Tree by Eve Bunting(1994), in which a family "decorates" a tree in the woods with edible ornaments each Christmas season. Not so, this but it will still make for a solid Christmas favorite with it's jaunty rhyme and retro illustrations. ...more

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Dec 27, 2018 Kirsten rated it really liked it

Shelves: from-library, fiction, children-or-ya, woman-author, kiddo-read-alouds

A charming read-aloud for Christmas about picking out and decorating a Christmas tree. I liked the bright stylized illustrations and the bouncy text. The human characters have skin of varying shades.

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Nov 09, 2018 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: christmas, preschool-storytime

Beautiful, whimsical tale of a family choosing a Christmas tree, bringing it home, and decorating it. Just a side note, there is a lot of diversity depicted by the illustrator in the family and their friends and it is natural and beautiful and I just highly recommend it!

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Dec 01, 2017 Becky rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewcopy, picturebooks, 2017reviews

First sentence: Pick a pine tree from the lot--slim and tall or short and squat. One with spiky needle clumps, scaly bark, or sappy bumps. Long, straight limbs or branches bent--mmm! Just smell that piney scent!

Premise/plot: A family picks a pine tree and takes it home to decorate for the Christmas season. The story is told through rhyme.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. I do NOT like real trees. In fact, the idea of being in the same room with a real tree is terrifying because I'm so alle ...more

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Oct 06, 2017 Becky rated it really liked it

So Jarvis is totally going to be an illustrator I look out for, particularly for the spreads of turning out the lights and seeing the fully decorated tree. I had holiday cheer chills. Decorating the tree is an absolute favorite holiday task. It's something that I used to do with my grandma and something that I've always done with my family, only missing a time or two when I was out of town. So this book... this book is magic. ...more

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Oct 18, 2017 Vicki rated it really liked it

Shelves: picture

The romanticized version of putting of the Christmas Tree. I love this idea of going into the woods or tree lot to buy a tree, but wondered as I read how many people/families just go down into their basement and get their artificial tree out? I've done that for almost 30 years with the same artificial tree.

However, back to this book demonstrates the step by step way to put up a freshly cut tree - with friends is the most important thing. Lovely illustrations. ...more

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Dec 06, 2017 Jana rated it really liked it

Shelves: rhyming-picture-books, all-kinds-of-families, christmas, holiday-books, children-fiction, children-picture-books, public-library

With lyrical, rhyming text and lovely illustrations rendered in pencil, chalk, and paint and colored digitally, this awesome picture book celebrates the joy of picking the perfect tree and decorating it with friends and family. This is definitely a terrific book to have as part of a holiday collection to share with young readers.

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Nov 19, 2017 Mary rated it it was amazing

Love this book! From the beautiful illustrations including a sparkly bow on the cover to the wonderfully written rhyming text, I thoroughly enjoyed this family's trip to pick out a pine tree for Christmas. Perfect gift for the holiday season (or as a gift to your child's school library)!! ...more

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Dec 03, 2018 Busy Mummy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ks1-picture-books, seasons-and-weather, christmas, family

Perfect Christmas book to celebrate the ritual of decorating your home and Christmas tree. Lovely rhyming text and warm whimsical illustrations. Can’t wait to read this to my boys before we pick our tree.

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Oct 11, 2017 Gretchen rated it it was amazing

From the shiny ribbon on the cover to the warm last page, this read will make your Christmas glow.

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Dec 01, 2017 Michael Fitzgerald rated it it was ok

Shelves: picture-books

This book does very little to justify its existence. There are a couple of attractive illustrations, but they are the exceptions. The text is dull.

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Jan 27, 2018 Bethe rated it really liked it

Shelves: childrens-realistic

practically a how to guide for Christmas trees - rhyming text and delightful illustrations make it a must for holiday collections.

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Dec 19, 2020 Andrea rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was delightfully surprised with this. I liked everything about it, the illustrations, the writing, rhyming, and subject. It perfectly captured the entire process of a Christmas tree from picking it out at the tree lot to decorating it and lighting it. It covered all the bases and it's something we can all relate to. I loved how the title and text mentioned picking a pine tree and how it sounds so simple and ordinary, but then it turns into a Christmas tree, something so magical.

I love the cove I was delightfully surprised with this. I liked everything about it, the illustrations, the writing, rhyming, and subject. It perfectly captured the entire process of a Christmas tree from picking it out at the tree lot to decorating it and lighting it. It covered all the bases and it's something we can all relate to. I loved how the title and text mentioned picking a pine tree and how it sounds so simple and ordinary, but then it turns into a Christmas tree, something so magical.

I love the cover with the shiny title and the ribbon. The illustrations are adorable and colorful. I don't know what style it is, but I like it. At first I didn't like it because I thought it was too simple and not detailed enough, kind of arts and crafty like cut-out paper shapes pasted together to form the objects, but it really grew on me. I liked the inside covers with the blue pages and white snowflakes all over. The pages are so colorful and there are so many things to look at that I just wanted to stare at them and take it all in.

The writing took a little while to take off. At first it was pretty mundane and mentioned putting the tree on your car if you don't live nearby, and tightening the screws, and I was like oh no, please don't go through every little boring particular here. But when it got to watering the tree, I was hooked. "Fill with water to the brink. Give your thirsty tree a drink!" I loved that! It's so cute!

Then she mentioned getting the trimmings out of various types of storage, like boxes, tins, bags, and cases. So true!

She said to call people on the phone and ask your friends to stay for a decorating day. That's the thing that didn't fit to me, because I would never invite anyone else to decorate my tree, especially just friends. But I guess it fit in with rhyming or something.

I really liked when it got to hanging ornaments and asked "What kind of trinkets will they be? Jolly Santas. Dancing elves. Wooden reindeer. Jingle bells. Lacy snowflakes. Paper dolls. Candy canes and bright glass balls. With loops of thread or wire hooks, hang them all in little nooks." I loved that! She hit all the high points. I thought it was so thoughtful and thorough to mention ornaments hanging on wire hooks or loops. She thought of everything.

She wrote "It's not a pine tree anymore. It's a . . . Christmas tree!" I liked how you had to turn the page vertical because the tree took up both pages. The tree was fully decorated and had transformed from a plain pine tree in a lot to a beautifully decorated piece of art.

The last page showed shades of blue and black at night, with the house all lit up and the sleigh and reindeer on the roof, with Rudolf leading and Santa inside. He wore a red suit, there was a red heart on the door, and Rudolf's nose was red, but other than that it was blue, black, and white and made such a nice image.

I really enjoyed reading this and would read it again. Well-written, pretty illustrations, and overall a good story. ...more

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Oct 25, 2019 Mercedes Wood rated it it was amazing

Shelves: children-library

Lately, I've started thinking about Christmas and Winter, even though October is not over. This book has only intensified my excitement or thinking about Christmas. I adore it, and I think it is a perfect book to prepare kids for Christmas, the perfect read. I could maybe see it as one of those books that you read annually, a tradition in the making. ...more

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Jan 15, 2019 Lucia rated it really liked it

Shelves: childrenspicturebooks

What's not to love about a book about pine trees getting picked for an important job. Lovely illustrations. ...more

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Oct 10, 2019 Ellie Morland rated it really liked it

I think children in KS1 and KS2 would enjoy this book when the festive season is coming up. It really gets you in the Christmas spirit. Firstly, it includes references to the senses, helping children to imagine. I particularly enjoyed the references to the different characteristics of a tree which could lead to discussions based on the seasons and different types of trees. Mostly, i hope this book gets children excited for Christmas.

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Nov 27, 2019 Lisa Marie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: picture-books

The illustrations are everything! <3

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Nov 30, 2020 Gina House rated it really liked it

Shelves: christmas-books, childrens-books

Quite joyful to read and the artwork is amazing! It would be the perfect book to read aloud to children. I loved the surprise at the end. Lighthearted and happy. Definitely a keeper and a re-read for Christmas.

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Jan 02, 2021 Andrea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: age-1

Beautiful illustrations with a good balance of content to look at and text to read through to keep kids interested.

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Dec 26, 2018 Maci Dierking rated it liked it

Very cute kids Christmas book. Definitely for little little kids. The illustrations are beautiful.

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Oct 06, 2017 Strawberry rated it it was amazing

Shelves: children-s-picture-book

This is a lovely and fun picture book for Christmas! This hardcover book is a little shorter in length, but a bit wider, than an A4 piece of paper. It’s filled with thick matt pages with lots of colourful illustrations which I just love! It’s hard to see from the picture of the cover but the title as well as the red ribbon on the side are actually sparkly, giving this book an extra Christmassy feel.

The story of ‘Pick a Pine Tree’ is such a simple one but something that so many kids will love to This is a lovely and fun picture book for Christmas! This hardcover book is a little shorter in length, but a bit wider, than an A4 piece of paper. It’s filled with thick matt pages with lots of colourful illustrations which I just love! It’s hard to see from the picture of the cover but the title as well as the red ribbon on the side are actually sparkly, giving this book an extra Christmassy feel.

The story of ‘Pick a Pine Tree’ is such a simple one but something that so many kids will love to read. The story follows the journey of a pine tree. A family chooses a tree from a lot and then takes it home to be decorated. Although it may seem like a really simple plot (and it is) the magic comes from the rhyming style of the story which kids usually enjoy. The first lines of the book are: ‘Pick a pine tree from a lot – slim and tall or short and squat. One with spikey needle clumps, scaly bark, or sappy bumps.’ This rhyming pattern follows throughout the entire book making this easy for kids to read alone as well as with adults.

The whole story focuses on the decorating of the tree and the different aspects that go into making it all Christmassy, as well as the fun you can have while decorating. The images really make this book shine and I have to say I love the seemingly simple pictures. Every picture looks a little like a kid’s drawing and they are all very colourful which makes every part of the story easy to understand and stand out. I do enjoy the whole look of all the pictures and the happy way everyone and everything looks but what I love even more is the fun extras on each page. A lot of the double page images have fun little extra things such as the cat that ‘helps’ to decorate the tree or a chance to spot the family dog.

The whole story is fun to read and although it’s simple it does work. The ending is fun and I love not only the final finished image of the decorating but also the hidden extra scene on the last page which makes the whole book a bit magical. The rhyming really does make this book so appealing and although there’s a bit of a strange rhyme at the end (doesn’t quite follow the same pattern on the last page) it still works well and makes the whole book feel like a fun thing to read in the run up to Christmas.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to give their kids an early Christmas present, especially if they enjoy or you’d like to get them involved in the fun of decorating the tree. This would also make a great Christmas present overall as well as a fun book to read anytime of year when kids want to enjoy the magic of Christmas. I remember reading Christmas themed books months before December when I was a child and enjoying the build up to the time when Christmas happens so I know a lot of kids would enjoy this book, even at odd times of the year, and along with the rhyming nature and some fun images I’m sure a lot of adults would enjoy a quick read of this too.
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy. ...more

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Dec 04, 2017 Linda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: everyage, poetry-2017, read-2017, multi-cultural-2017, holidays

It's going to be a fun afternoon or evening because it's time to "Pick a Pine Tree" as Patricia Toht shows readers in her happy rhyming story from the first piney whiff to the final turn-on-the-lights time. Illustrations cheer in the best holiday way with sparkles and tinsel and happy children all through the story. Some pull the tree home on a sled; others tie the tree on top of the car for a longer trip home. Then the fun begins. One lovely idea is first to invite friends over to trim the tre ...more

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Nov 05, 2017 Erica Sirotich rated it it was amazing

A sweet, lyrical snapshot of one of the most-loved traditions of the Christmas season--picking just the right tree, bringing it home, decorating it, and waiting for Santa to arrive. I love the language in Toht's books. It glistens with beautiful, surprising, and simply perfect word choices, and has a cadence and rhythm that make you want to sing, not read, the words on each page. Jarvis's illustrations are an absolute delight, and have a nostalgic and timeless feel to them, even though the style ...more

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Nov 05, 2017 Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* rated it it was amazing

Shelves: essential, elementary-lower, pre-k, picture-book

Toht, Patricia Pick a Pine Tree. PICTURE BOOK. Illustrated by Jarvis. Candlewick, 2017. $17.

Celebrate the joy of picking and decorating a Christmas tree with this delightful book. Beware - if you read this to anyone, they will want to immediately go out and get their tree, invite guests over to help decorate and not even grinches will be able to avoid the Christmas spirit.

Pre-K, EL (K-3), GIFT - ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017... ...more

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About Patricia Toht

Patricia Toht

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Patricia Toht once owned a children’s bookshop called Never Never Land before turning a love of books into a love of writing. Pick a Pine Tree is her debut picture book. Patricia Toht lives in Chicago, Illinois.