Emily loved her older brother Tom and was upset when Tom decided to leave and go and fight in a war in far-away Turkey. Emily knew about the war from the newspapers and her uncle’s visits. She didn’t care about it only about her beloved brother and the special times they shared. It was Tom who told her that she was like their late mother whom Emily didn’t remember and who showed her the cypress pine their mother had planted atop a farm hill years earlier.
Tom promised to write and for a while his letters arrived some funny, some serious and some sad then they didn’t. What came instead was a telegram with the dreadful news that Tom would never be returning. Emily was heartbroken and ran for comfort to a cypress tree. Eerily that same night a storm destroyed the tree.
In Tom’s last letter were three seeds. Encouraged by her uncle, Emily planted them and small seedlings appeared. Quietly she planted them on the site of the damaged cypress pine. Her father who had been silent in his own grief found her there. Emily was scared how he would react but relieved when he tells her that the trees would need protection from the wind and rabbits and after gently touching the trees, he says they will build a shelter together. A quiet statement that together with the trees grown from Tom’s gift provide a mutual solace to the heartbreak of both Emily and her father.
The loss of a beloved family member in any way is heartbreaking. When it is during a faraway war the loss seems amplified beyond the family to the wider community – to those left behind who are deprived of the chance to say goodbye. ‘The Soldier’s Gift’ highlights these issues and also shines light on the importance new life to both honour the dead and help deal with grief. Here Emily plants the seeds Tom sent and the reader knows they will be cared for and Tom’s memory will live on.
The muted tones of Jane Tanner’s realistic illustrations work well with creating the mood of the period. They provide the period detail of the farm in particular the inside of the home. The endpaper illustrations reflect at the front images of photos and certificates from pre and early war years. The endpapers at the back are similar but from the post war years.
The addendum at the end of the book provides further factual information and photographs of the war in Europe and the war at home in Australia as well as a short reflection of the Aleppo pine at Gallipoli that Australian soldiers gathered then planted, often as memorials in Australia.
‘The Soldier’s Gift’ was a 2015 Notable Book in the CBCA Book of the Year Awards, Eve Pownall Award for Information Books and shortlisted in the 2016 Picture Book category of the WAYBRA Children's Choice Awards.
Picture Books for Older Readers
