This gorgeous story is based on the original tale by Hans Christian Anderson. The vibrant palette and richness of the illustrations are stunning, and evocative of a simple appreciation and celebration of the wonder and beauty of the natural environment as they immerse the reader in images of forest and woodland creatures.
The story is told from the viewpoint of a little fir tree who is unhappy with his life deep in the forest. He sees older, bigger trees being cut down and taken away, and longs to find his place in the world, to have a sense of purpose …
Don’t wish your life away, little tree.
Eventually, the little fir tree gets what he has spent his life wishing for as he becomes part of a family’s festive celebrations. However, his new-found purpose may not be all that he had expected …
This story conveys an important message: to appreciate the beauty in the natural world around us, and to cherish what we have rather than wishing our lives away with things that may not fulfil us as much as we thought they would.
I love how children’s stories, no matter how seemingly simple, convey important wisdoms, and this story does just that.

The Little Fir Tree comes from the original story by Hans Christian Anderson and is retold by Christopher Corr. The thing that initially drew me to read this book was the cover. The brightly colored, whimsical illustrations continue throughout the book. The colors used effectively portray the seasons as they pass even though the setting for most of the story is an evergreen forest.

The little fir tree is the smallest tree in the forest and cannot wait to grow up. The little tree watches as the forest changes around it and is constantly unhappy. Other trees are cut down to make cabins and ships, but the little fir tree remains. Finally, the little fir tree is selected to be a Christmas tree and is cut down and taken to a house in the city. The tree enjoys the holiday with the family that lives in the house, but once the holiday is over the tree is shut in a dark shed. The tree longs for the times it had taken for granted in the forest. Finally, in the spring the children find the tree, take it outside, and begin playing with it. The tree knows true happiness for the first time.

There are several lessons to be taught from this story, such as "don't rush to grow up" and "take the time to appreciate the small things". This is a book that I would consider adding to my school library and one that I will definitely be sharing with my own children.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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The Little Fir Tree is a beautifully told and illustrated fairy tale that children may enjoy on a literal level. For the adult reading this tale, there is much metaphor and much to think about. Some of the things that came to me included why do we want to grow up so quickly? how will we later look back on this rush? what happens when we go from one place to another? how fleeting is joy? can we cycle back to it? what is it like to make room for the next generation? That is quite a lot for a short fairy tale. This is a book to buy for a child you know, both to read now and to save for later. It will remind you to be aware and appreciative of life in the current moment.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

The illustrations in this book remind me of the Christmas storybooks I read as a child. I loved them! Unfortunately, trying to brighten up a Hans Christian Anderson tale failed here. How could a tree that was cut down survive for months? I have a feeling many children are going to be asking that question.

The Little Fir Tree is a nice colorful book intended for children. I requested this book because the cover is so beautiful. The exceprt said this was originally Hans Christian Andersen's story. I had not read this story before, let alone hear about it, so it's exciting for me.

The main character is a fir tree that lives in the woods. We begin when the tree is young and envying other tall trees that being cut away by people and being brought with them to see "another world". Well, isn't that what we all felt when we were a little? We envying the grown up and didn't realize that our childhood is awesome.

The morale of the story is great for kids and for adults too. I personally like the brightful color, it's so refreshing to see.

Thank you Netgalley and Frances Lincoln Children's Books for granting my wish.

This is a delightful book, full of hope and wonder.

I was immediately captivated by the illustrations and the hope of the little fir tree wanting to grow up and grow into what he sees happening to the bigger trees around him. Sadly, though, he is missing the beauty of the world around him; the butterflies, the forest friends and the feel of the sunlight of his branches.

When he gets taken into a home, decorated and celebrated, he feels as though this is what he had been waiting for. He wishes he could share it with his forest friends.

Once the celebrations are over, life changes and darkness takes over. Hope is fading for the little tree, until something wonderful happens.

A beautiful story and one that I will enjoy sharing with children in assemblies.

'The Little Fir Tree' offers a clean, clear message of 'live in the moment' to young children, and is aptly and sweetly told, with a powerful and unsentimental drive to it. Eminently suitable for ages 2+, I believe it would work all the way to 8 years old due to the layers within it and the questions it generates.

The Little Fir Tree is a children’s story with a very important message. Don’t wish away your life. Simple as that. For a children’s book this made me very sad. Maybe because I’m 33 and a mom, lol.

This book was vividly illustrated in a whimsical fashion. The story has a happy ending and it really drives the whole messGe home.

The Little Fir Tree is a lovely book based on the Hans Christian Anderson story, I had not read this before so it was new for all of us and I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. It is the story of a little fir tree who is excited to see the world but is disappointed when nobody seems to want him and he stays left in the forest until one day everything changes.

I think the message in the story of being grateful and appreciative for what you have is fantastic for the children to learn and not something I have seen or was expecting in a picture book as it's quite a deep and meaningful topic for a young age but it is done beautifully and in a way the children could understand.

With the tree being the main character it was a unique perspective on the story but it worked really well with how we got to understand how the tree was feeling and what he saw the world as, it made them sad to see the fir tree sad but it's great for it to be that way as it shows how you are able to empathise with the tree despite it not being a person. We loved the ending and it really turned the story around in a way we weren't expecting.

The illustrations in the book are beautiful and really keep the children's attention with all the bright and colourful images and fun cartoon like images showing nature through the seasons and the life the little fir tree ended up living (this was their favourite but to see but I won't spoil what it was!)

We have really enjoyed reading The Little Fir Tree, such a fantastic version of the story with fantastic illustrations and a great message within!

Hans Christian Anderson was a bit sadistic. Just look at what he did to some of his characters! The Little Fir Tree is a retelling of one of his lesser-known stories about a small tree who longs for what he doesn't have until he realizes he should've been grateful all along. Well... that's the original story. What we get in Christopher Corr's retelling is a bit confusing, since he obviously decided to try to brighten things up a bit. (At the end of the original tale, the spent Christmas tree is chopped up into firewood and burned. In this version, he simply goes brown--as old Christmas trees tend to do--and a new fir tree suddenly starts growing in the middle of the forest.)

The writing is pretty good here, even though it's a bit weird to try to wrap your brain around an anthropomorphized tree. (Why is it male, for one thing? If there were ever a time to use "they/them" pronouns, this is it.) As I was reading about the stupid tree wishing it could get chopped down so it could see the world (seriously, what?!), I had a feeling that things weren't going to end well. And they didn't. They also didn't make a lot of sense. After Christmas (for which the fir tree is chopped down and decorated... which somehow doesn't kill him), he's tossed into a shed for months, after which the children find him and pull him back out into the sunshine. (Would he even be recognizable as a tree at that point?) Instead of getting chopped up into firewood, however, he's decorated with flowers by the children and he gets one last chance to enjoy the sunshine. The tree's demise isn't spelled out in the text, which might be a bit confusing for some readers. The tree is shown yellow and dead, lying on the ground. Then a new fir tree grows, and the way the text is worded, one could be forgiven for thinking that the book is implying that the little dead tree has come back to life.

The illustrations here are very bright and colourful, with sort of a folksy aesthetic. It's not my favourite style, but it works here.

Overall, this was just okay for me. If you're looking for a kinder, gentler retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's story, you might like this. But if, like me, you're bothered by stories that complicate things when they try to "fix" narrative problems or potentially traumatic imagery, your reaction to The Little Fir Tree might be lukewarm as well.

The moral of not wishing your life away, and the cyclical side of nature, are both well conveyed in this brightly colourful picture book. Just a short paragraph or three per page get the story across, but look for the necessary detail in the dynamic artwork too – the beat where new growth is given the chance is only in the background. It might be a book that introduces the idea of forestry and wildlife husbandry to the very young, too. A success.