THE THREE TREE

A girl enables her village to count again in this picture book.

A village’s people “counted to five as much as they could.” For example, they say, “One-two-three-four-five little ducks swimming in the pond!” One night, “the Evil, Mean, Mad Magician,” a White man, steals the three from “the hall where the numbers were kept.” The diverse townspeople panic, counting “One-two-four-five.” A “wise old lady” asks them to close their eyes and raise their hands. She instructs: “If you are not the strongest person in the land…put your hand down.” After she asks, “Are you the smartest?,” the only person left is a medium-brown-skinned girl. The villagers elect her to retrieve the three. Following a challenging journey, she spies the thief burying the stolen number. When it sprouts into a tree, he says, “those silly townspeople will never, ever be able to count to five again.” Devastated, the girl notices “tiny little threes” between the branches and brings one home. The townspeople rejoice when she plants it and it grows into a tree sprouting “3” shapes. She instructs everyone to plant “threes…across the land” so “the…Magician will never be able to steal them.” The enjoyable story features a quirky mix of fantasy and adventure. Farkas’ language (“skulked and snuck and crawled”) is lively. The instances of resourcefulness and strength will appeal to young readers. Mangal’s simple illustrations include old-fashioned and medieval-esque details. The depictions of numbers add helpful visual context.

An original, engaging tale that emphasizes creativity and bravery.