Description
A delightful, warm and moving story about Art, a thoughtful boy who learns to celebrate his individuality and uniqueness. From the CBCA Victorian vice president and beloved author of All The Little Tricky Things.
Twelve-year-old Art and his younger brother Hilary are great friends, best friends.
When they move to Melbourne from a small town in Queensland things seem to be easy for Hilary, who is still in primary school, but Art struggles to fit in, and he's become a target for school bully Jack. His dad is too busy to give him much attention, but Art has his stepmum, Sally, who is always ready to listen.
And there's paperbark tree. Art and Hilary climb into its branches and hold a secret meeting whenever they need to sort things out.
The only problem is Art's not sure he still wants to be part of the paperbark tree committee. He's getting older and he thinks he needs to solve his problems on his own.
The Paperbark Tree Committee is a heartfelt story about growing up and leaving childhood behind; it's about family and being a good brother, fitting in and finding friends, and about making mistakes and learning from them.
Review
Twelve-year-old Art has recently moved from a small town in Queensland to Melbourne, with his brother Hilary, to live with their Dad and stepmum. Their Dad is an author, and he has real trouble concentrating on any father-son duties, especially when he is inspired.
The brothers have a really close bond, and they had a fig tree as a place to meet to discuss any issues that they had in Queensland. In Melbourne, they replace that with a paperbark tree on a vacant block. But are they getting too old for this?
Art is being bullied at school, and has trouble getting help from his support group. He meets and makes friends with a couple of kids from school, and joins the running and writing clubs. This helps, but he still feels out of place.
Then the announcement is made that his stepmum is pregnant - and Art doesn’t like where this will surely leave him in the family dynamics. Can he sort out his problems both at home and at school, and re-establish his close relationship with his brother?
This is a terrific novel about facing change and coping with problems. It shows not only the transition from primary to high school, but also the challenge of changing families and your whole domestic environment. Beautifully written, with tremendous characters and so many real-life issues, this book is a perfect story for readers aged 11 to 14 years. It easily lends itself to being a group read and discussion starter for both upper primary and lower secondary students.
