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Rating: 
Summary: Timeless Classic!
Review: For me, this book is a "Gone With The Wind" with young adults in mind, but great for all ages. Like the "Little House ..." books, it describes the rural life of a family and village before industrialization changed everything. The quality of life these people had, despite the workload, is something to be admired. The book is a wonderful sequal to "The Good Master," another wonderful tale. While the first book is more of a typical chidren's book, this one is much more of an epic as the family deals with the ravages of war. The themes of tolerance and family values are well expressed without ever getting preachy. Kate and Jancsi are fantastic characters for children to identify with, and the adults make fine examples for them to look up to. The illustrations are wonderful. This book will make you laugh, cry and everything in between. It's one of the books I re-read every now and again, and it's stood the test of 30+ years worth of reading. I treasure it.
Rating: 
Summary: lively and adventurous- unpredictable
Review: hello, my name is nina. i liked this book because it is educational yet adventurous. it was unpredictable, i never knew what would happen next. the reason i rated it a three was because some parts were not well explained and every now and then i would get lost and have to re-read some sections. otherwise this was a magnificent, adventurous tale and i would recommend it for older children and young adults.
Rating:
Summary: The "Tree" Still Sings...
Review: I absolutely love Kate Seredy. It was such a treat to check in with the adult Kate and Janci. They complemented one another perfectly. Kate, the delightfully irrepressible moppet who brought many smiles to many faces in "The Good Master" does not fail to deliver in this book as well. Janci has grown into a thoughtful gentleman and the Hungarian backdrop is a very effective way of describing Eastern European culture. This is an excellent book and I certainly hope you will read it. It's great.
Rating:
Summary: The Singing Tree
Review: I bought this & The Good Master for my daughter many years ago. These books have always had a special place in my heart because of their "readability". The stories are about growing up and being loved and all that after much disruption in a young life. There is a message of hope and love that is good and kind and there is also a clear and warm picture of what life could have been like in pre-World War 1 Hungary. The illustrations are as outstanding as the story. I love reading it to children, gives me an excuse for re-reading it myself. The second book is more serious as the children grow up and war intrudes but life is like that, isn't it.
Rating:
Summary: The Singing Tree
Review: I bought this & The Good Master for my daughter many years ago. These books have always had a special place in my heart because of their "readability". The stories are about growing up and being loved and all that after much disruption in a young life. There is a message of hope and love that is good and kind and there is also a clear and warm picture of what life could have been like in pre-World War 1 Hungary. The illustrations are as outstanding as the story. I love reading it to children, gives me an excuse for re-reading it myself. The second book is more serious as the children grow up and war intrudes but life is like that, isn't it.
Rating:
Summary: superlative
Review: This book, along with its prequel, The Good Master, is based on Seredy's childhood in Hungary. The Singing Tree opens with a traditional Hungarian wedding ceremony. Riding home from the wagon, Kate overhears the news that Francis Ferdinand has been shot. Hungary is soon plunged into the war. Kate's father and uncle become soldiers, along with the new groom and three of the village shopkeeper's sons. The Nagy farm is soon full of "refugees:" the new bride, six Russian prisoners to do field work, six German children escaping ravaged Berlin, Kate's grandparents, and a daughter of a judge who starts off as spoiled as Kate once was and is quickly reformed by firm Nagy love.
The Singing Tree contains a message of peace and hope, but it does deal, however gently, with racism and prejudice and the death and injury and madness that war causes. Children who have read The Good Master should probably wait a year before reading The Singing Tree.
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