Book Review: The Cherry Tree by Ruskin Bond

The Cherry Tree by Ruskin Bond is a very nice story promoting the importance of nature through a cute boy Rakesh, aged six. Rakesh lives with his grandfather in a small town of Mussoorie, and there he goes to school every day. For the farming purpose, his parents live in the deeper part of the mountains which is not connected with facilities like school or hospitals, etc.

One day Rakesh buys a bunch of cherries from the market, while eating them, he comes home. When he is left with only three cherries, he thinks about sowing seeds of cherries around his home, since there is barely a fruit tree. In the garden around his home, he throws the seed casually. After rain and winter when the next season of monsoon arrives, by luck he notices the tiny plant of the cherry tree. Thereafter, he grows fond of that tree; however, he remains obsessed with its height. He wants it to grow very fast. When he sees that the tree is not growing fast like he thought, he abandons it, thinking it a waste of time.

Again in the next monsoon he discovers the tree and then jumps up with excitement upon finding it as tall as him. After that both grandfather and he begin taking care of the tree. They save the tree from a goat that eats up the stem leaves and then from a grass-cutter woman who almost cut it into two pieces.

By the time Rakesh is nine years old, the tree grows up like a matured one. He notices the caterpillar and other insects wounding up and down the branches. After a few months, grandfather puts his cot underneath it to relax in the day under its shade. Rakesh is bemused on his deeds that he cannot believe that he can reap the fruits of a tree planted by him.

In Ruskin Bond books, nature has always been a persistence theme. He is of the opinion that the nature of the hills should be saved and encouraged. People should not destroy it for commercialization or personal motifs. The language of the book is simple yet engrossing. It is a perfect book for primary class students.

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