The Tallest Tree

Little Catfish knows that something is missing from his street. For one thing, there are hardly any stores—his grandma has to take two city buses to the market—and there is only one lonely tree left standing on the block. Even the Regal Theater is run-down. Little Catfish's friend Mr. Odell says that the biggest stars used to appear at the Regal, including the legendary Paul Robeson. Now it's only a shabby community center.

But what if Little Catfish can fix whatever's missing? What if he and Mr. Odell can find a hero to help, one who can do just about anything, like Paul Robeson? "Yeah, right," say the older boys who claim the street as their own. Yeah, right.

But one early summer day, directly outside the Regal Theater, something new gets planted on Little Catfish's street. Something that has the power to grow and grow. As long as Little Catfish and Mr. Odell and the older boys and anyone else who comes to appreciate the majesty of its cool, dark shade tend to it.

Publishers Weekly

Belton's (Store-Bought Baby) latest, a hopeful tale of social change, pays tribute to the legendary Paul Robeson, gifted athlete, scholar, actor, baritone and civil rights crusader. The author initially sets a somber scene: in Little Catfish's hometown, shops are boarded up and the Regal Theater, whose marquee once heralded appearances by such stars as Robeson, Duke Ellington and Marian Anderson, is now a community center. Odell Davis, the theater's elderly caretaker, becomes a mentor to Little Catfish, regaling him with tales of Robeson's accomplishments, and paving the way for a rebirth for the town as the Royal is restored, stores reopen and trees are replanted. Belton shifts between a third-person narrator whose measured words recall a honeyed movie voiceover ("And so it happened just that way. Without anybody realizing it at the time, something new on that street got planted") and the more conversationally expressed viewpoints of Little Catfish and an older, rebellious boy. An earnest, if heavy-handed, entreaty to simultaneously look forward and remember past heroes. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)

Sandra Belton is the author of the Ernestine & Amanda series, the novels Store-Bought Baby and McKendree, and several picture books, including From Miss Ida's Porch, Pictures for Miss Josie, and Beauty, Her Basket. Sandra Belton grew up in West Virginia and now lives in Chicago, Illinois.