The Paperbark Tree Committee

The Paperbark Tree Committee by Karys McEwen (Text Publishing) PB RRP $16.99 ISBN: 9781922790705

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

Some books just hit all the targets when it comes to themes that children connect with – feeling left out, new environments, making friends, sibling relationships, insecurity and stuffing up. It’s a bonus when a book also has a great story with characters who you feel like you already know.

Twelve-year-old Art is happy at his small school in Queensland. He has good friends, enjoys classes and has a solid friendship with his younger – and more confident – brother Hilary. The two boys even have their own ‘group’ – the Fig Tree Committee – which convenes whenever they need to talk and help each other solve problems.

When the family are uprooted, Art finds himself having to move to Melbourne – and a bigger school. While Hilary is fine because he can fit in anywhere, Art immediately becomes a target for the school bully and, with nobody to talk to, given the fig tree is still in Queensland and his father is always too busy, Art is very much on his own.

As luck would have it, there is a vacant lot across from Art and Hilary’s new home – and in the vacant lot stands a paperbark tree. Hilary is keen to repurpose their committee, but Art is no longer so sure. He’s in high school after all, and probably too old to be hanging out with his primary school brother anyway.

Author Karys McEwen has crafted a warm, heartfelt story in The Paperbark Tree Committee. Reading it, I felt like I was right there with Art and Hilary and I really wanted to climb up into that paperbark tree with them. McEwen captured all the feels of the fear of standing out but also being left out. Because of this, and the emotional journey she takes readers on, this is exactly the sort of story I would have wanted to share as a class novel with my Year 3–5 students.

A beautiful story, perfectly suited for its target audience of readers aged 8 and beyond.