The Daisaku Ikeda Library

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This tale of a cherry tree's survival after the devastation of war reaches the hearts of children too young to understand abstract ideas like pacifism and environmentalism.

Brian Wildsmith's illustrations create an enchanting world where together with a boy, a girl, their newly adopted cat and their mother, the reader can rejoice in a dream come true after enduring a cold, harsh winter and learn the importance of hope and perseverance in the face of all odds.

The Cherry Tree is also available in Japanese, Korean, Chinese (traditional and simplified versions), Indonesian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Tagalog, Urdu and Portuguese.

REVIEWS

This tale of a cherry tree's survival after the devastation of war will touch the hearts of children too young to understand abstract ideas like pacifism and environmentalism.

Brian Wildsmith's illustrations invite the reader into a world where an old man, a boy, a girl, their newly adopted cat, and especially their mother, can rejoice in a dream come true after enduring a cold, harsh winter.
—Richard Munnelly, posted on Amazon.com

I have used The Cherry Tree in 4th and 5th grade inner-city classrooms for many years. Even though it is a picture book, upper elementary school children relate to the notion of hope and reconstruction thriving in an environment of loss and destruction. My students have been greatly moved by the final flowering of the cherry tree at the end of the story--a metaphor about the strength of the will to live.
—monte j joffee, posted on Amazon.com

“The Cherry Tree by Daisaku Ikeda, illustrated by Brian Wildsmith… tells a deeper story than is at first apparent.”
—The Toronto Star

“As in The Snow Country Prince, their previous collaboration, Ikeda and Wildsmith present a tender story about the rewards of kindness. Ikeda's quiet text is infused with the innocence and curiosity embodied in his child protagonists; his message is fundamental without being didactic.”
—Publishers Weekly