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How to Grow a Family Tree

Author Bea Birdsong
Illustrated by Jasu Hu
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Hardcover
$18.99 US
Candlewick | Neal Porter Books
9.35"W x 11.28"H x 0.35"D   | 16 oz | 24 per carton
On sale Oct 07, 2025 | 48 Pages | 9780823453962
Age 4-8 years | Preschool - 3
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Can a family tree be found? A girl stresses over her heritage-mapping school assignment, until she realizes family is all around—her neighbors and friends.

All week, Emmylou’s classmates get up and present their family trees. These trees are thick with branches, and there are stories to go with each face and name. Emmylou’s tree is almost bare. There’s her, Mama, and the names Mama won’t say—the stories she doesn’t tell. 

By the end of the week, Emmylou wants the project to be over. She doesn’t want to think about her family tree at all. After all, she only has one family recipe, the one she trades with Mrs. Patel for her mango chutney. She has no aunts or cousins—only Rosa next door to watch Emmylou after school. No siblings—only Rosa’s baby twins for Emmylou to play peek-a-boo with. No zayde like Eli’s to teach her to ride a bike—only Mr. Li, who doesn’t complain when she runs over his foot. 

Finally Emmylou knows what to tell her class. Her family isn’t so small—she just had to look for  it.  

Bea Birdsong tells a tender story of found family and the bonds we choose, with art by Jasu Hu, illustrator of Howard Schwartz’s All You Need and Janet Fox’s Wintergarden.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
[A] tender and lushly illustrated story. . . . A beautiful reflection on the wonders of a found family, and an important book for the shelves; blended families, chosen families—all will find succor in this volume.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

The familiar family-tree school project is thoughtfully explored in this beautifully illustrated, tender story. . . . Stunning textured watercolor illustrations chart her journey from loneliness and uncertainty to hope and belonging. A moving, sensitive portrait of blended and chosen families.
—Booklist (starred review)

Hu threads ginkgo branches through her muted, watercolor-in-digital illustrations with the same nuance Birdsong brings to her text. . . . A sensitive answer to a potentially insensitive and sadly common school exercise.
—Kirkus Reviews

This meditative picture book touches on all forms of familial bonds and delicately taps into Emmylou’s quiet introspection of what a family is and what it means to her. Gradient watercolor palettes and blurred digital techniques enhance the compositions and blend borderless panels for an almost ethereal effect.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Bea Birdsong is the author of I Will Be Fierce, Southern Book Prize Finalist Sam’s First Word, How to Spot a Best Friend, and other books for children. She is also a writer for the education market and a former teacher who believes in the awesome power of books to educate, entertain, and empower. Bea lives in North Carolina with her husband, son, and rescue dog. She invites you to follow her on Twitter @BeaBirdsong and visit her online at beabirdsong.com.

Jasu Hu was born in Hunan, China. She has worked as an illustrator in China for six years while studying Visual Communication at Tsinghua University (Beijing). After finishing her MFA in Illustration at MICA (USA), she moved to New York and started working as a freelance illustrator. She also illustrated All You Need, by Howard Schwartz, and Wintergarden, by Janet Fox.
Bea Birdsong View titles by Bea Birdsong
Jasu Hu View titles by Jasu Hu

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About

Can a family tree be found? A girl stresses over her heritage-mapping school assignment, until she realizes family is all around—her neighbors and friends.

All week, Emmylou’s classmates get up and present their family trees. These trees are thick with branches, and there are stories to go with each face and name. Emmylou’s tree is almost bare. There’s her, Mama, and the names Mama won’t say—the stories she doesn’t tell. 

By the end of the week, Emmylou wants the project to be over. She doesn’t want to think about her family tree at all. After all, she only has one family recipe, the one she trades with Mrs. Patel for her mango chutney. She has no aunts or cousins—only Rosa next door to watch Emmylou after school. No siblings—only Rosa’s baby twins for Emmylou to play peek-a-boo with. No zayde like Eli’s to teach her to ride a bike—only Mr. Li, who doesn’t complain when she runs over his foot. 

Finally Emmylou knows what to tell her class. Her family isn’t so small—she just had to look for  it.  

Bea Birdsong tells a tender story of found family and the bonds we choose, with art by Jasu Hu, illustrator of Howard Schwartz’s All You Need and Janet Fox’s Wintergarden.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Praise

[A] tender and lushly illustrated story. . . . A beautiful reflection on the wonders of a found family, and an important book for the shelves; blended families, chosen families—all will find succor in this volume.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

The familiar family-tree school project is thoughtfully explored in this beautifully illustrated, tender story. . . . Stunning textured watercolor illustrations chart her journey from loneliness and uncertainty to hope and belonging. A moving, sensitive portrait of blended and chosen families.
—Booklist (starred review)

Hu threads ginkgo branches through her muted, watercolor-in-digital illustrations with the same nuance Birdsong brings to her text. . . . A sensitive answer to a potentially insensitive and sadly common school exercise.
—Kirkus Reviews

This meditative picture book touches on all forms of familial bonds and delicately taps into Emmylou’s quiet introspection of what a family is and what it means to her. Gradient watercolor palettes and blurred digital techniques enhance the compositions and blend borderless panels for an almost ethereal effect.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Author

Bea Birdsong is the author of I Will Be Fierce, Southern Book Prize Finalist Sam’s First Word, How to Spot a Best Friend, and other books for children. She is also a writer for the education market and a former teacher who believes in the awesome power of books to educate, entertain, and empower. Bea lives in North Carolina with her husband, son, and rescue dog. She invites you to follow her on Twitter @BeaBirdsong and visit her online at beabirdsong.com.

Jasu Hu was born in Hunan, China. She has worked as an illustrator in China for six years while studying Visual Communication at Tsinghua University (Beijing). After finishing her MFA in Illustration at MICA (USA), she moved to New York and started working as a freelance illustrator. She also illustrated All You Need, by Howard Schwartz, and Wintergarden, by Janet Fox.
Bea Birdsong View titles by Bea Birdsong
Jasu Hu View titles by Jasu Hu

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