The Book

The 45-page hardcover children’s book was written by New Orleans author Tracie Morris Schaefer and beautifully illustrated by New Orleans-based designer and art director Rhett Thiel. The colorful illustrations and text convey the emotions of the main character, a curious young Christmas tree, as he navigates his circle of life and discovers that the magic of a Christmas tree does not end when the holiday is over.

The Greenest Tree is also a teaching tool for parents and teachers to introduce children to the concept of recycling and repurposing objects. At the end of the story, there is a “tree-cycle” ornament for children to cut out, encouraging them to place one last ornament on their own tree before it gets recycled.

The idea for the book was sparked by a poignant moment between Schaefer and her daughter one January morning. “My daughter waved sadly to our Christmas tree lying on the curb and she said, ‘Goodbye, Christmas tree!’” says Schaefer. “I tried to comfort her by explaining that the tree was going to be picked up by a recycling program and used to rebuild our coastal wetlands.”

Later that day, Schaefer searched for a children’s book to further explain the tree recycling process but could not find one. Schaefer, an accomplished and creative professional photographer, says the idea to write a book on the topic churned within her until she was compelled to release the idea on paper.

“I realized that many of us teach our kids to be kind, respect the earth, to not be caught up in commercialism, to remember the reason for the season — only to literally kick our Christmas trees to the curb as garbage. This seemed an obvious contradiction,” Schaefer says. “We can continue the spirit of the season by recycling our trees for a bigger cause of restoring our wetlands.”

Each year, thousands of fresh-cut Christmas trees remain a part of our communities through recycling programs nationwide. These projects find various uses for the discarded trees so they don’t end up in landfills. In Louisiana some of the trees have been used to create shoreline fences. These trees find new life as they protect our fragile marshes and wetlands from harmful erosion.

The Greenest Tree received International Gold Medal distinction in the 2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards (the IPPYs). Independent authors and publishers from around the world entered their books in the 20th annual IPPY book awards contest, which recognizes excellence in independent publishing. The Greenest Tree took the gold in the popular Holiday category, reinforcing why the book is fast becoming a family reading tradition.

The Greenest Tree is available at local bookstores and retailers.