The Magical Beach Tree

A picture book · The coast of Maine

The Magical
Beach Tree

A winter story about community, resilience, and the quiet magic the shore gives back.

Cover of The Magical Beach Tree: a small evergreen growing from a sand dollar on a snowy Maine beach.

About the book

A tree the whole shore decided to keep

The Magical Beach Tree is a heartwarming coastal holiday tale about Hildi, her dog Finn, and the unexpected tree they discover on a snowy Maine morning. As the beach offers up its treasures—shells, sand dollars, driftwood, and sunlit surprises—the community comes together to create something truly magical.

When a fierce storm sweeps the tree away, nature gives it back in a wondrous way, reminding everyone that some places—and some stories—are meant to last forever.

Golden seagrass and snow along the crescent Maine shoreline where the story is set.

The crescent shore where the story unfolds.

The Magical Beach Tree decorated with shells and sand dollars, standing on the snowy shore against the winter sea.

Decorated only with gifts from the shore — shells, sand dollars, driftwood, and sea-smoothed stones.

The true story behind the book

It really happened.

In the days after Christmas Prelude, someone left a tree by the road in coastal Maine. Instead of letting it go to the trash, we carried it down to the beach, anchored it in the cold sand, and wrapped it in solar lights — then decorated it entirely with treasures from the shore.

What happened next, no one planned. People stopped to admire it and, without a word, began adding offerings of their own. One day, painted rocks appeared beneath the branches, just like wrapped presents. To this day, no one knows who left them.

A nor'easter eventually swept the tree out to sea. It seemed to be over — until, weeks later, a familiar twinkle blinked softly in the seagrass. Every year since, a tree returns to that same stretch of beach, shared by neighbors and strangers alike.

"Welcome back, little tree."
— The Magical Beach Tree

About the author

Donna K.

Donna K. has spent more than thirty years on the coast of Maine, where the shoreline, the seagrass, and the changing seasons inspired this story. She and her family treasure their years in Goose Rocks.

Her dog Finn is the real-life inspiration for Hildi's faithful companion, and The Magical Beach Tree is her first children's book.

Finn, a golden dog, beside Hildi at the window.

Finn — the real-life inspiration for Hildi's companion.

Get the book

Bring the beach tree home

A full-color picture book published by Goosefare Publishing, available in three editions.

A Spanish edition — El Árbol Mágico de la Playa — is in the works.

For school visits, readings, or wholesale inquiries, get in touch.

The Magical Beach Tree front cover.

Softcover

ISBN 979-8-9940062-2-1

Coming soon

Hardcover

ISBN 979-8-9940062-1-4

Coming soon

eBook

ISBN 979-8-9940062-3-8

Coming soon