Each year in April, my sixth-grade class was guided by a representative of the city of Cape Canaveral, Florida, to go to a preselected location to plant a tree. It was fun and exciting to think that we were planting a tree to help the environment and add a beautiful, living green tree to the city of Cape Canaveral's landscape. "But why do you plant trees on Arbor Day, Mr. Smouse?" was the question I got time after time. The sad part was, I didn't have an answer for them. I didn't know myself.

That is how Arbor Day came about-the book, that is. After a couple of years of hearing that question and not knowing the answer, I had to do a little research to find out the origins of Arbor Day. That's when I wrote this narrative poem that explains why we observe Arbor Day.

Yes, that is how the book Arbor Day came about. However, to find out the origins of the holiday and why people plant trees on Arbor Day, you will have to open the pages of this book, travel back in time, and discover this for yourself. I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoyed learning about the history and writing this creative work.

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