The Letterbox Tree
Age 8+
General Fiction
Two of Australia’s most acclaimed and high profile writers co-author a sensitive and ultimately hopeful story about our growing climate crisis.
With sea-levels rising, and the land deforested, over-mined and affected by bushfires and drought – Tasmania is increasingly marooned, its people abandoned. Nyx’s father wants them to leave while they still can but, for Nyx, West Hobart is all she’s ever known, and where her mother is buried. She seeks solace in the single surviving tree near her home - an 80-foot pine that has defied all odds. Bea, too, finds solace in the tree, and facing a move to the mainland herself, leaves a despairing note, wedged into a hole in its trunk. Nyx finds the note, and writes back. But Nyx and Bea don’t realise how special their tree truly is …
Resources
Creators
Rebecca Lim is an award-winning writer, illustrator and editor and the author of over twenty books, including Tiger Daughter (a Victorian Premier's Literary Award-winner), The Astrologer's Daughter (A Kirkus Best Book and CBCA Notable Book) and the bestselling Mercy. Her work has been shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards, NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Queensland Literary Awards, CBCA Book of the Year Awards and Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, shortlisted multiple times for the Aurealis Awards and Davitt Awards, and longlisted for the Gold Inky Award, the Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award and the David Gemmell Legend Award. She is a co-founder of Voices from the Intersection and co-editor of Meet Me at the Intersection, a groundbreaking anthology of YA #OwnVoice memoir, poetry and fiction.
Kate Gordon grew up in a very bookish house, in a small town by the sea in Tasmania. After studying performing arts and realising she was a terrible actor, Kate decided to become a librarian. She never stopped writing and, in 2009, she applied for and won a Varuna fellowship, which led to all sorts of lovely writer things happening. Kate's first book, Three Things About Daisy Blue, was published in 2010. Her most recent publications are the middle-grade novels in the "Direleafe Hall" series, and Aster’s Good, Right Things, which won the CBCA Book of the Year for Younger Readers.
Reviews
In The Letterbox Tree, two acclaimed children’s writers have teamed up for the first time to write a platonic, cli-fi version of The Lakehouse, crafting a tense and pacy story of friendship and survival that spans 70 years… Ultimately, the strong takeaway message is that our actions in the present can affect the future in a profound way and every little bit counts. For Zana Fraillon fans aged 10–14 who are willing to be a little confronted.
Books + Publishing
Told through alternating voices of both Nyx and Bea, this is a story of friendship, climate change and having the courage to make a difference. It will be enjoyed by those in middle to upper primary.
Lamont Books
The Letterbox Tree is a beautifully written novel by Australian authors Rebecca Lim and Kate Gordon… The characters were well-written and the story was so heartfelt. As I am a young adult who is concerned about climate change, I felt so emotionally connected to this story and the themes it conveys. I would recommend this book to anyone who is seeking hope during times of environmental uncertainty.
Better Reading
I really enjoyed The Letterbox Tree! I really loved the futuristic aspects of it, and I am particularly fond of books with multiple character perspectives. The Letterbox Tree has funny, relatable, and well-developed characters that bring out the interesting plot lines… This book not only met, but exceeded my expectations… The friendship of Bea and Nix is a magical, amazing thing. Everyone deserves to have friends that care about them like Bea and Nix care about each other. The Letterbox Tree is a great story.
Better Reading
The Letterbox Tree contains one of the most important lessons I have ever read on friendship and how what you do in your life now affects those into the future. It is really well written and keeps you questioning and remembering its message long after you have turned the last page.
Better Reading
