At the Welcome Tree

At the Welcome Tree was written to help children (and all who read it) to understand three essential life lessons: the importance of helping those in a crisis, the prudence of hospitality, and the beauty that comes from living together in unity. Using animals of the forest to tell the story, the book centers on Mr. Owl who welcomes a variety of animals whose homes were lost in a fire. He invites them to live together in the tree where he lives. At first, the animals are confused since they did not live with those unlike themselves, but with loving encouragement they finally come together, and the tree becomes the most beautiful of all. Author Bio: B. (Dee) Shelnutt, Jr. is enjoying retirement from forty years as a pastor in the United Methodist Church. Over those years he was pastor to six churches. He is married to Kandy and they have three grown (married) children and five grandchildren. His lifelong passion has been in the field of Biblical hospitality. He loves anything associated with lake living, reading, traveling, humor, cheeseburgers, good barbeque, and being with his family and friends. Illustrator Bio: Hillary is a former pediatric physical therapist in the North Georgia area. as a child, she loved drawing and writing, and has now chosen to use those passions as an illustrator and digital creator. She is passionate about being an encouragement to others. Hillary loves spending time with her husband, Josh, and her son, Liam. She also enjoys leading worship services with her husband, exercising, traveling, and being with loved ones.