The Tangerine Tree

Name: The Tangerine Tree
ISBN: 9780395689639

by Regina Hanson

For a child experiencing separation anxiety when a parent must work far from home, this story offers comfort and a special way to stay connected.

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About This Book

A parent should reach for this book when a child is facing anxiety over a parent leaving for an extended period for work or deployment. The Tangerine Tree gently addresses the heartbreak a young Jamaican girl, Ida, feels when her father must go to America to find work. To comfort her, he shares a special secret: he will return when the fruit on their tangerine tree is ripe. This beautiful story externalizes the abstract concept of time into a tangible, natural cycle that a child can watch and understand. It provides a powerful model for creating a personal ritual to maintain connection across distance, making it an excellent tool for families navigating temporary separation. It validates a child's sadness while offering a concrete sense of hope and security.

Love & Family Sadness & Grief Parent Deployment Family & Siblings Resilience & Perseverance Nature & Outdoors Loneliness & Belonging Cultural Identity

What Parents Should Know

Sad ThemesModerate

Focuses on a child's sadness and anxiety when her father leaves home for work.

Sensitive Topics

The book deals directly with temporary parental separation due to economic migration. The approach is emotionally direct, focusing on the child's perspective of sadness, longing, and hope. The resolution is concrete and unequivocally hopeful, as the parent returns exactly as promised. The narrative is secular, using a natural cycle, not a religious one, as its core metaphor.