Accomplished Screenwriter Jere Silber Shares Humorous, Touching Story Accompanied by Illustration
OLNEY, Md., April 9, 2009 — The original, touching children’s story from screenwriter Jere Silber, which sparked acclaimed adaptation “The Family Tree” on cable television and later as an audiobook nominated in the Spoken Word category of the 2001 Grammy Awards, “Tree Story” (published by AuthorHouse) is at its heart about generations of trees surviving and sticking together despite the odds.
“Tree Story” follows families of trees, primarily the Birches and the Sycamores, in one particular forest. One morning, the forest is forever changed when three men enter and nail signs to some of the trees. Bedlam and confusion disrupt the formerly calm life of the trees as they wonder how they will survive what happens next.
As weeks pass by, another set of visitors enter the forest and this time they are friends, hoping to save and protect the trees. Believing that their human friends had saved them, the trees became peaceful once more. Months later, at the dawn of winter, the sound of bulldozers entered the forest. Silber writes:
The peaceful calm of the past few months quickly faded away. The entire forest was frightened. The animals hurried to seek shelter. But the family trees had nowhere to go. With nowhere to hide, the family trees were stranded. Grandfather Sycamore knew this was the end …
As the first trees began falling in the background, Grandfather Sycamore used the remaining moments to say farewell to his family.
“As the head of this family it has been my responsibility to protect you from whatever Mother Nature had us withstand, from her cold winters to her hot summers and strong winds. Whatever she threw at us, we survived her!
“Today I ask you to be as proud of yourselves as I am of you. So be strong, and always remember, long live the family tree!”
As the trees are taken away one by one, they are convinced that they will never see each other again, but, miraculously, they do — once at the lumber mill and again when Grandfather Sycamore, as a grandfather clock, is reunited with Grandfather Birch, a coffee table, at the Robinson’s home. And soon, other family members are discovered as the kitchen cabinets, the wood siding, baseball bats and even a copy of “Tree Story.” The birds from the forest visit the family trees and tell them of the regeneration of the forest and the new generations of trees that will take root and leaf. “Tree Story” ends with the knowledge that the families of trees will continue to thrive and survive in and out of the forest.
Jere Silber is an accomplished screenwriter with over 35 years of experience working on radio, television and theatrical productions. He studied radio/television broadcasting at Montgomery College and screenwriting at The American Film Institute. “Tree Story” is his first published book.
AuthorHouse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit www.authorhouse.com.
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