My Tree

When a young boy’s beloved plum tree falls in a storm, he feels like he’s lost both a friend and a connection to his old home.

A young boy, recently arrived from Korea, finds a glorious plum tree in his new backyard. It reminds him of a tree his family had back home, and he names it “Plumee” for the deep purple plums on its branches. Whenever the boy is homesick, he knows he can take shelter in Plumee’s tall branches.

And when a storm brings the old tree down, he and his friends have all kinds of adventures on its branches, as it becomes a dragon, a treehouse, and a ship in their imaginations. But soon it’s time to say goodbye when the remains of the tree are taken away. Before long, a new plum tree is planted, new blossoms bloom, and a new friendship takes root.

A South Korean immigrant herself, Hope Lim brings her perspective on the struggle for child immigrants to feel at home to bear through spare, poetic text, perfectly matched by soft, lyrical illustrations by Korean artist Il Sung Na.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

About the Authors

Hope Lim is a children’s book author from South Korea who now lives in San Francisco with her family. She majored in English Literature and earned a Master’s degree in Conference Interpretation. Her debut picture book, I Am a Bird is to be published with Candlewick in February, 2021.

Il Sung Na also grew up in Korea and now lives in Kansas City, where he teaches illustration. In 2001, he moved to London to pursue a BFA in illustration and animation at Kingston University, where he discovered a passion for children’s books. His books include Welcome Home Bear: A Book of Animal Habitats, A Book of Sleep, and Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons.