AUTHORAUTHOR

Mrs. Eve Mrs. Eve BuntingBunting

ILLUSTRATORILLUSTRATOR

Mr. Ted RandMr. Ted Rand

BOOK SYNOPSIS

The Night Tree is a sweet Christmas story about a family who sets out one night to find a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. They go to a place called

Luke's Forest to look for the perfect tree. The family finds a tree and they decorate it with popcorn,

apples, and tangerines. The family hangs balls of sunflower seeds on the tree. They also scatter

shelled nuts and breadcrumbs under the tree. The family spreads a blanket under the tree and they

sing Christmas carols and drink hot chocolate. The family goes home and they imagine all of the

animals in the forest that are eating the treats that they left on the tree.

AUTHORAUTHORMrs. Eve Mrs. Eve BuntingBunting

Eve Bunting

Eve Bunting was born in Ireland and came to California with her husband and three children. She is one of the most acclaimed and versatile

children's book authors, with more than two hundred novels and picture books to her credit. Among her honors are many state awards, the

Kerlan Award, the Golden Kite Award, the Regina Medal, the Mystery Writers of America and the Western Writers of America awards, and a PEN International Special Achievement

award for her contribution to children's literature. In 2002, Ms. Bunting was chosen to be Irish-American Woman of the Year by the Irish-American Heritage Committee of New

York.

More Books by Mrs. Eve More Books by Mrs. Eve BuntingBunting

ILLUSTRATORILLUSTRATORMr. Ted RandMr. Ted Rand

Ted Rand 1915-2005

Ted Rand was a gifted artist. "He always said he felt the most satisfied when he worked on the children's books, that he was

using what he could do the best way," said Gloria Rand.

His career began when Bill Martin Jr., a well-known children's author, spotted a painting by Mr. Rand and recruited him to illustrate one of his books. Two of his most widely sold works were the illustrations for "The Ghost-Eye Tree" and "Here are My Hands," both written by Martin. He also collaborated with

his wife to produce 12 books.

More Books More Books Illustrated Illustrated by by Mr. Ted RandMr. Ted Rand

INTERESTING SENTENCESINTERESTING SENTENCES

Use these to guide students Use these to guide students

to make predictionsto make predictions

andand

analyze the authors writing style.analyze the authors writing style.

We drive through the We drive through the bright bright

Christmas streets to Christmas streets to where where

the dark and quiet begin.the dark and quiet begin.

Dad says it’s not reallyDad says it’s not really

a forest, just a nice a forest, just a nice

forgotten placeforgotten place

where our town ends.where our town ends.

It’s so cold It’s so cold

my breath hurts.my breath hurts.

An owl hoots,

deep in the darkness.

There are secrets There are secrets

all around us. all around us.

Our tree has folded itself Our tree has folded itself into the darkness, into the darkness,

but I think I can see it but I think I can see it still,still,

stars caught in its stars caught in its branches branches

and the moon and the moon swinging lopsided on top.swinging lopsided on top.

QUESTIONINGQUESTIONING

Why do you think the the wooded area is called “Luke’s Forest?”

Why do you think Nina had the boots on all day?

Why does this family do this every year?

What are the events in the story that happen every year?

How is this family’s tradition like your family traditions?

Do you think it would be fun to go into a forest and decorate a tree for

animals?

Would you rather decorate a tree in the forest or go to the mall to go Christmas

shopping?

How is the family of animals like your family during the holidays?

What do you think happened one minute after the family left Luke’s

Forest?

Five minutes?

One hour?

The next day?

The next week?

VOCABULARVOCABULARYY

Building Vocabulary

1. The teacher provides a description, explanation, or example of the new term.

2. The teacher will ask the learner to give a description, explanation, or example of the new term in his/her own words.

3. The teacher will ask the learner to draw a picture, symbol or locate a graphic to represent the new term.

4. The learner will participate in activities that provide more knowledge of the term.

5. The learn will discuss the term with other learners.

6. The learner will participate in games that provide more reinforcement of the new term.

scramble

spattered

tangerines

sunflower

breadcrumbs

creatures

cousins

squirrels

opossums

raccoons

skunks

admire

thermos

millet

TEACHER TEACHER RESOURCESRESOURCES

Grade level Equivalent: 2.8Lexile Level: 620L

Guided Reading Level: KDRA Level: 24

Night Tree by Eve Bunting

Night Tree – A Mini Unit http://www.easyfunschool.com/article1902.html

Pre-Activities:

1. Find pictures of coniferous and deciduous trees. Check out books on trees and pinecones.2. Research the history of Christmas trees. One way to do this is to use www.google.com and use the words “Christmas tree history” in the search engine.3. Take a field trip to a local Christmas tree farm, if possible. If there are not Christmas tree farms in your area, find out where the trees sold are coming from.

During and After the Book Activities:

1. Discuss the family and their traditions and compare them to your own family and your family’s Christmas traditions.2. List all the animals found in the book. Have you ever seen these animals outside of a picture book or television show? If so, where?3. Make a bird feeder and record what kinds of birds come to eat and at what time of day.4. Find a tree on your property. Decorate it with strings of popcorn, dried fruits, and apple pieces. You may also be able to string it with stale bread. Scatter nuts and bread crumbs under the tree. Check everyday to see what is missing. Look for animal tracks to help you discover which animals might have visited the tree. Keep a record of your findings.

Some other books that you may wish to read:

December By Eve Bunting The Wild Christmas Reindeer By Jan Brett The Polar Express By Chris Van Allsburg

The Night Tree   technology lesson plan                

http://www.forsythcountyschools.org/its/kadkins/night_tree.htmBy Eve Bunting

Grade: PrimarySkills: Fine Motor Skills

      Listening Skills      Following Directions

Tools: Oval Tool     Rectangle Tool     Wacky Brush           

Objective: Students create their own night tree using Wacky Brush tools.Procedure 1.      Read The Night Tree by Eve Bunting to class. Discuss story meaning.

2.      In Kid Pix Project instruct students on first drawing background color.3.      Using the zig-zag tool or pine needle tool(Wacky Brush), instruct students on how to draw a tree.4.      Next have students use the bubbly tool(Wacky Brush) to draw popcorn garlands.5.      Using the oval tool have students draw apples, oranges and the moon.6.      Stars and animals can be placed using the rubber stamp tool.7.      Show students how to draw a text box with the rectangle tool.8.      Instruct them to use the typewriter tool to type the author and title.

 Extension Let the students draw a tree and decorate with items that they would like to give to their parents.Have students draw a traditional Christmas tree and write several sentences about one of their family holiday traditions.      Import students’ pictures into Microsoft Word and instruct them to write about the story or a story about their own Christmas tree adventure.

The tree in the meadow stands all alone,With fir-needle leaves and tiny cones,One family comes when the night is still,To decorate the tree for the animals fill.

Tangerines, apples, millet, seeds with honey, Strings of popcorn and berries cost little money. The tree is lovely in Dad's lantern-light, "Oh, please, dear animals, come tonight.But if they don't, we've completed our mission.This tree is our gift to them, our yearly tradition."

Night Tree Poem Adaptation

Story Written by a First Grade Classhttp://kids-learn.org/kidspiredfrosty/wall/wall.htm

What Kinder Teachers Know Bloghttp://www.whatteachersknow.com/blog1/?p=93

Books About Family Memories http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson870/FamilyBooklist.pdf

Lesson Planhttp://readingtokids.org/Books/BookView.php?pag=5&bookID=00000383&pview=yes

Other Books by Eve Bunting http://mrscarosclass.com/eve_bunting.htm

moving quickly or in a hurry

small something scattered small something scattered aboutabout

small citrus fruit with orange small citrus fruit with orange skinskin

large yellow flower with tasty large yellow flower with tasty seedsseeds

very small pieces of very small pieces of breadbread

any living person or any living person or animalanimal

small nocturnal small nocturnal tree-dwelling marsupialtree-dwelling marsupial

small rodent with a long small rodent with a long bushy tail that lives in bushy tail that lives in

treestrees

small animal with grayish black small animal with grayish black fur and black patches around fur and black patches around the eyes, and a long bushy the eyes, and a long bushy

ringed tailringed tail

black and white animal that black and white animal that can spray a foul-smelling can spray a foul-smelling liquid as a defensive liquid as a defensive

actionaction

to look at something to look at something beautiful or attractivebeautiful or attractive

Pale shiny grain of a cereal Pale shiny grain of a cereal plantplant