The Healing Tree by Kathleen Maresh Hemery

Illustrated by Kyra Teis.25 p., Centering Corporation, 2001.

Samantha asks her Baba (grandma) Marta why the tree has a scar. Baba tells her how the tree was special to her because it had an important role in some of her best times with her mother. When Baba's mother died, when Baba was still a little girl, lightning struck the tree, causing it to lose the branch from which Baba's swing hung. The tree became like Baba and her family, scarred by a sudden loss and changed forever, but eventually healing. This story offers children empathy with the pain of losing someone close, and hope that there is healing after grief.

Ages 6-10