Rita Marshall Knihy

Now in fourth grade, Victor, the daydreamer with a reputation as a bad student who hates to read, secretly reads all the time.

As a third-grader who hates to read unwillingly looks at a book, the characters come alive and interest him so much that he really begins to care about them, and begins turning the pages.

The Fir Tree is a moving short story about a tree that is so desperate to grow up that it cannot appreciate the present. Following the tree from its early years until it is big enough to be cut down and used as a Christmas tree, it highlights the importance of living in the moment, and offers a topical and bleak outlook on our use of nature.