The Black Squirrels and the Mother Tree

At the heart of Elderbough Forest stands the Mother Tree, an immense chestnut whose roots feed springs, whose branches shelter generations of creatures, and whose yearly harvest has long been shared as a promise that no family will face winter alone. When the ancient tree suddenly stops producing leaves on one side and its bark begins to split, most animals assume that age has finally defeated it.

But the Nighttail family of black squirrels notices a stranger pattern: the Mother Tree is not simply dying. Something has broken the relationships that kept it alive. As parents Corvin and Mira, their children Sable and Pip, and Grandmother Nera search from crown to root, they uncover a chain of small selfish choices that has weakened the whole forest. Restoring the Mother Tree will require more than repairing wood. It will require the animals to restore the circulation of water, seeds, fungi, memory, and trust that once joined them together.