Egg Tree

The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous is regarded a classic in the realm of Easter literature. The book, which was written more than half a century ago, still continues to charm young children with the tale of the Easter egg tree tradition. The story narrates how a young girl Katy accidentally discovers her grandmother's old hand-painted Easter eggs in the attic and restores the Easter egg tree tradition.

The storyline unfolds with siblings Katy and Carl arriving at with their Grandmom's place to celebrate the Easter season. On the Easter morning, the siblings went on the annual Easter egg hunt through Grandmom's place. Katy was initially disheartened as she couldn't find any eggs, but when she went up to the attic, she found a cache of beautifully hand-painted eggs. This led to Grandmom teaching all the kids how to paint their own eggs and hang them from the branches of a tiny tree to make an egg tree.

In the Egg Tree, author Katherine Milhous has made liberal use of the lively colors and sweeping designs associated with Pennsylvania Dutch folk art and tradition. In 1951, the American Library Association awarded Milhous the Caldecott Medal for The Egg Tree. The popularity of the egg tree tradition in America is often ascribed to the rising popularity of Milhous' The Egg Tree.