Book Review for The Distance between me and he Cherry Tree by Paola Peretti
Bibliography
Peretti, P. 2019. The distance between me and the cherry tree. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9781534439627
Plot Summary
We follow Mafalda who is in Elementary school and is struggling with her vision. Mafalda has a rare eye disease that is making her quickly lose sight and she is having a hard time coping with this. We learn about different relationships she builds in the story from her cat Ottimo Turcaret who offers her comfort to Estella, the Romanian school custodian who helps her face her fears and shows her how to be strong, to finally Filippo who becomes a genuine friend as Mafalda struggles with her loss. Mafalda has a notebook she keeps reminding her of the things she loves to do and that she won’t be able to do anymore after she goes blind. As we go through the story, a turning point is when Mafalda climbs the cherry tree in front of her school and wants to stay there forever and ignore what is happening to her. In this moment she must choose between giving up and living with her choices or pushing forward and living her life to the best of her ability.
Critical Analysis
The main character in this story is Mafalda who is having a hard time with her vision. She is very quickly losing sight and is worried about what will happen to her once the world goes dark. The book mentions many different cultures from the Romanian custodian to the German ophthalmologist. We get a little backstory on the Romanian culture when the custodian talks about the “Amazon women” and how she compares to them. Mafalda speaks of Italian cultural values and beliefs of the family. She also becomes more familiar with European rights for her and her disability. In the setting, we visit Mafalda at her school where there is a very important cherry tree that becomes symbolic in the book for Mafalda. At one point in the story, she doesn’t want to leave the tree because in the tree she feels safe and leaving would mean she would have to face potentially never getting to climb up again. In the story you can see how European schools are run. We see that the Italian schools are more about building social and emotional connections with community rather than how an individual is performing. Mafalda often talks to Cosimo who is from a story she loves about a boy to lives in a tree to escape his life. She has been given this book by her dad which shows the traditions passed down in her family. The book shows how we can rely on our love and strengths to thrive even though we may be a little different than others. The format of the book is great; you get breaks from time to time when she is talking to Cosimo or writing in her journal that are short and quick to get through. This book makes you connect with the main character and even though you may not be going blind, you may have other difficulties in your life that you can get through and this book is wonderful to show how your disability can’t keep you down.
Review Excerpt(s)
"A quiet, philosophical story for thoughtful readers." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Peretti provides a tunnel of light for readers to reach for." -- Booklist
"A great opportunity to teach empathy and understanding." ― School Library Connection
Connections
*I would have students write a letter to their favorite book character explaining a hardship they may have and how they are going to persevere or what their advice would be for someone else going through the same thing.
*Students could also compare this book to another character from a different culture like Wonder by R.J. Palacio or El Deafo by Cece Bell.
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