About this book

Once upon a time I stood

With brothers and sisters in a wood.

The old trees told me I had grown

From a tiny seed inside a cone.

Follow the journey of a pine tree, from a young sapling to a soaring tree in the forest, before it is cut and transported to London’s Trafalgar Square. Here the pine tree becomes a Christmas Tree, shining in all its glory, surrounded by friendly faces and children singing. Next year a new tree will experience the same magical journey.

Julia Donaldson originally wrote this story as a poem, commissioned by The Poetry Society to celebrate the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree. The tree is an annual gift from Norway in thanks for the support given by the British during the Second World War.