Under the Mango Tree

Summary

Vee and Sanaa are best friends that often play under a neighborhood mango tree. They enjoy the fresh juicy mangos after a long day of adventures in their neighborhood. One day, Vee broke news to Sanaa that her family is moving away. They made a promise under the mango tree that they must keep each other forever in their hearts forever! Sanaa is struggling with the loss of her best friend and remembers all the things they did together. Until she noticed a message carved into the tree by Vee.

Theme(s):

Friendship, Traditions, Character Change/Loss

Personal Response

I love this story and how relatable it is for the reader. We all had that one childhood friend you lose contact with, one way or another. I was reading this book when a song called seven by Taylor Swift came on my reading playlist. One lyric from the song “And though I can’t recall your face I still got love for you” even though Sanaa and Vee no longer live together. I thought it was the perfect song to pair with this story because of the discussion about losing a childhood friend.

Teaching Ideas

I think this might be a good introductory read-aloud for a discussion about the theme of friendship and losing a friend. Loss is something children of all ages can struggle with regardless of the scenario. I think using this text with discussion questions relating to moving away might be a great way to use text-to-self connections with students. I can also see students making their own promises with their friends in a fake tree and explaining the significance of the message.

BOOK.tique