The Education of Little Tree tells of a boy orphaned very young, who is adopted by his Cherokee grandmother and half-Cherokee grandfather in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee during the Great Depression. "Little Tree" as his grandparents call him is shown how to hunt and survive in the mountains, to respect nature in the Cherokee Way, taking only what is needed, leaving the rest for nature to run its course. Little Tree also learns the often callous ways of white businessmen and tax collectors, and how Granpa, in hilarious vignettes, scares them away from his illegal attempts to enter the cash economy. Granma teaches Little Tree the joys of reading and education. But when Little Tree is taken away by whites for schooling, we learn of the cruelty meted out to Indian children in an attempt to assimilate them and of Little Tree's perception of the Anglo world and how it differs from the Cherokee Way. A classic of its era, and an enduring book for all ages.

“Some of it is sad, some of it is hilarious, some of it is unbelievable, and all of it is charming.”

I really enjoyed this book! The Education of Little Tree is the story of a young orphaned 5-year old boy called Little Tree, who is taken in by his half-Cherokee Granpa and Cherokee Granma. The story takes place during the Great Depression in the mountains of Tennessee. “Little Tree” learns how to survive in the mountains and how to respect nature. He also learns the ways of the whites, especially the politicians and tax collectors who are trying to put Granpa out of his whiskey business. The book is full of wisdom and sometimes hilarious anecdotes relating how Granpa keeps his business afloat and scares off would be investors in his business. While Granpa teaches Little Tree the ways of nature and his trade (whiskey making), Granma teaches him how to read and the benefits of an education. Towards the end of the story, Little Tree is taken away from his grandparents and placed in an orphanage to get a better education, but ends up being beaten and abused by the system.

This was a very inspiring story and many consider this a classic along with Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird. When it was originally published, it was touted as a true memoir of the author. However, it was later shown to be mostly fiction and it was found out that the author was a former member of the KKK and a speechwriter for Alabama Governor George Wallace. See this Wikipedia article on the book and its author.



Not sure how an ex-KKK member could write such a moving and inspiring story but overall, I would still highly recommend this!

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I've had this book on my TBR shelf for ten years. Finally read it as part of the Oldest TBR Reading & Release Challenge 2016. For now, making available but may later include it in a book box or wild release it.

This book was unselected from the Lit VBB. Releasing at the Franklin Library in Elk Grove, CA.

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