“More Than A Christmas Tree”, written by Michael and Kristen Brunacini and illustrated by Ash Pickering, all three 2009 graduates from Jamestown, and life-long residents of Jamestown, was released on Nov. 12 and follows the story of a Christmas tree throughout the Christmas season and beyond.

Kristen Brunacini said the idea for the book came after a dream she had.

“The idea actually came after a dream I had that led me to write this,” Brunacini said. “Every year we take the tree down early, like Christmas night, because I like a clean house. My mom teases me that I am ruining my kid’s childhood, so then one night I had a dream that there was a tree out on the sidewalk after Christmas. It was thinking you know, what did I do wrong, we were having so much fun? And then a garbage truck pulls up.”

When she woke up Brunacini said she told her husband, Michael, and they discussed that it could be good for something similar to a Pixar short film, but Brunacini said he encouraged her to think about it more and they decided ultimately to write a children’s book instead of trying to make a video.

Pictured are Kristen and Michael Brunacini, a Jamestown couple who recently published their first children’s book. Submitted photo

“The story follows the tree’s journey,” Brunacini said. “It opens with the tree coming home for its first Christmas and how it experiences it with a family doing the regular things. The tree learns the true spirit of Christmas in the simple moment with family, and the overall message is that every ending can lead to a new beginning.”

Brunacini is a music teacher at CC Ring Elementary School, and Michael Brunacini is a musician, so music is something that is very important to them and also plays an important role in the story. The couple uses music to tie the story together and there are music references on every page, including towards the end of the story when after the tree continues to try and get back into the house the grandpa turns it into a guitar for his granddaughter, allowing the tree to have it’s wish of remaining part of the family.

“An important part of the story is about the family connection and connecting through music, and the tree gets to be a part of that,” Michael Brunacini said.

Brunacini said a fun part of creating the book was the creative discussions they could have around it, as her dream did not have an end, allowing them to create one themselves. This includes things such as Googling what tree has wood that can be used to make a guitar, which turned out to be spruce.

The pair said people should be interested in the book because of the beautiful message, creativity behind it, having something for the family, and that it is a relatively new idea. It is also published through a legitimate book press, with high-quality illustrations.

“I read so many children’s books as both an elementary teacher and with a young child,” Brunacini said. “There are so many bad children’s books out there, with just bad illustrations and a lack of the story being thought through. This story is thought through and Ash’s illustrations are great.”

The pair also praised the book as a group project, saying it would not have been possible without all three playing their parts. Michael Brunacini’s job as a musician and songwriter was to take what Brunacini wrote from her dream that drove the story into rhyme.

“Usually group projects are the worst, but this was fun,” Brunacini said. “I wrote most of the story and Michael is a songwriter so he turned what I wrote into a more musical and rhythmic way of writing and Ash did the illustrations. It was fun to do, and I couldn’t do it without Michael encouraging and believing in me along the way.”

Michael Brunacini said this was the first time he got to collaborate on a children’s book.

“To create a children’s book and hold it in your hand is a great feeling and not everybody gets to create something like this, so it’s great to say I got to do it,” he said.

“More Than A Christmas Tree” will be available at multiple local bookstores, including; Art Cloth and Craft in Jamestown, Good Neighbor Bookstore in Lakewood, and Werner Books in Erie, or online via Etsy. The Brunacini’s also have Meet The Author events scheduled throughout the next few weeks, including Nov 30, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Good Neighbor Bookstore and Dec 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Infinity Holiday Art Market in Jamestown. As far as future books go, Brunacini said there are some ideas that they have had, but no sequels to this book are planned, and that for now they just want to enjoy this book and wait and see if the passion for another one comes back.

Overall, Brunacini said the main theme they are hoping to portray through the book is connection.

“We wanted to focus on the traditions we have as a family around Christmas,” Brunacini said. “For us, music brings us together. Most families have something like 5Ks, games, food, etc. For us, music is what connects us and that’s the theme for the book.”