Branches of Hope is a beautiful picture book which tells the story of the 9/11 Survivor Tree that was found at Ground Zero in NYC. This book gives young readers for whom the events of 9/11 are hard to understand an entry point. The illustrations and text work so well together as they show the events of that day through the lens of the Survivor Tree. Lots of author notes at the end give further information. Thank you to Netgalley and Charlesbridge for providing a DRC.

After the terrorist attacks of September 21, 2001, on the site of the former twin towers, the Americans opened a memorial to the public. On the walls of the foundations of the former towers were arranged huge fountains in which water falls and drains into a hole in the middle that seems bottomless. It is a place of mourning where Americans and not only them arrive, especially on 9/11 every year, as a place of pilgrimage. The two huge fountains are "framed" by a metal parapet on which are engraved the names of the 2,977 victims. There, in the empty space of the letters, the people who come put a rose or a flag as a sign of remembrance. The whole area is impressive, and at night especially, when the fountains are brightly lit, the whole complex gets a great emotional load.
One of the trees planted in the memorial market is known as the "Survivor Tree". This tree was recovered from under the rubble of one of the towers in October 2001. Initially planted in the 1970s, the tree was almost completely burned, but had a branch that was still alive when it was dug up. With the care received from those in the parks department of New York City, this branch was saved and in December 2010 the tree was replanted in the market.
The book has suggestive images and the text is simple, used especially for the kids to understand or imagine the huge tragedy that date impersonated.

Branches of Hope by Ann Magee tells the hopeful true story of a tree that continued to live in the ruins of 9/11. I loved this book! It is beautifully written and illustrated. I did not know about the tree that survived 9/11 until I read this book. This book , I believe, would be perfect for anyone to read because it encourages us to remain full of hope despite what happens and to never give up. I highly recommend it! Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book! (This review is also on GoodReads.)

I really enjoyed this book, it was a beautiful, yet sad story, but also one of hope to me.

The book was easy to read and follow and it was a lovely story and a great way to remember the poignant events of 9/11.

It was well written and I liked the ending too.

It is 4 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!

Branches of Hope is a cute book regarding a tree in New York that h as thrived despite being impacted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I think it is a good story for children to understand how 9/11 impacted so much in the world, including flora.

This is beautiful yet it's so sad remembering the incident.

This storybook gives hope and comfort. But yes, it will always be difficult to read about World Trade Center incident that happened on September 1, 2001.

Thank you, author, the artist and the team for the effort.

I love the book so much.

Branches of Hope by Ann Magee tells the story of the 9/11 survivor tree, a tree that was found at Ground Zero following the events of 9/11, and replanted at the Memorial site in 2011. Many young readers will not be familiar with the story behind the resilient tree, and this beautiful story serves as a tribute to those lost, and to a city that continues to thrive twenty years after the tragic event. This is a book that will be shared by family members, both young and old, for years to come.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for an ARC.

A beautiful story of hope, faith and growth. Told mostly through beautiful illustrations, it's perfect for all ages, with an amazing and important lesson that was left from a tragedy. It shows us how nature can survive anything, even in the dark of times, anything can reborn and bring light to the world.

A fine telling of a story I didn't even know of. Apparently a tree was noted in America for surviving 9/11, and was brought back to health in a nursery before being replanted as a symbol of ever-growing hope when the landscaping of the memorial area was completed. Cuttings get prepped and sent to places with a qualifyingly dark kinship with New York, having survived terrorism, gun crime, etc. A very simple narrative (this is in the 200 words a book category, and definitely not 200wpp) gives us just what we want, while the illustrations most excellently guide us through the story, with reference to one family witness to it all, both the near death experience the tree had and the rebirth later. A strong four stars.

I am a 5th grade teacher and I teach about this tree on 9/11. I could see myself using this book as a read aloud to help teach and spark interest about the tree and the tough conversation of 9/11. I think that the timing of this book is appropriate since we are approaching the 20th anniversary. I would recommend all classroom teachers to read this book to help lead a difficult conversation.