The Tree of Seasons
Encyclopedia
The Tree of Seasons is a children's book written by Boyzone
member Stephen Gately
and published posthumously by Hodder & Stoughton
in 2010. It follows the adventures of three siblings - Josh, Michael and Beth Lotts - who are on their summer holidays, and is said to be similar in style to the works of Enid Blyton
, C. S. Lewis
and Walt Disney
.
, published on 16 May 2010, saying they "wish to make it clear that these statements are not correct and do not reflect the views of the family" and that Gately completed his secondary education and even attended college.
in October 2009, the final drafts of The Tree of Seasons were completed in collaboration with June Considine and Jules Williams with Andrew Cowles writing the acknowledgements.
to discuss the book on 14 May 2010 and was nearly reduced to tears by the questions asked by presenter Ryan Tubridy
. Tubridy responded to criticism by later remarking that Cowles had given "a very solid, brave interview and I know for a fact that he's happy with the way it went".
reviewer Sarah Webb remarked: "For a young man with no previous writing experience, the Tree of Seasons is quite an achievement" and "would make, with the addition of some powerful songs, an excellent musical".
Sunday Tribune
reviewer Pat Nugent compared it to Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree series, remarked on "a host of kinks and clumsy moments that could have been fixed with relative ease", but said there was "a distinct possibility [Gately's] career as a children's author would have outpaced his status as a popstar".
At least 10,000 copies of The Tree of Seasons were pre-ordered in Ireland and at least 5,000 copies were pre-ordered in Britain.
At least 3,600 people called themselves fans on Facebook
on the week of its release.
Boyzone
Boyzone are an Irish boy band comprising Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating,Shane Lynch, and formerly Stephen Gately. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ire charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12...
member Stephen Gately
Stephen Gately
Stephen Patrick David Gately was an Irish pop singer–songwriter, actor, dancer, musician and author, who, with Ronan Keating, was one of two lead singers of the pop group Boyzone. All of Boyzone's studio albums hit number one in the United Kingdom, their third being their most successful...
and published posthumously by Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
in 2010. It follows the adventures of three siblings - Josh, Michael and Beth Lotts - who are on their summer holidays, and is said to be similar in style to the works of Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
, C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
and Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
.
Introduction
The book's introduction was controversial. Written by Gately's partner Andrew Cowles, Gately's family were upset at references to Sheriff Street as one of "the poorest parts of Dublin City" and "a place of civil unrest and terrorist activity" where Gately "had a difficult upbringing and as an adult emerged a little damaged", that "he had a fear of ending up back at Sheriff Street" and that he "had difficulty in getting the novel published while he was alive due to his lack of formal education". The content of the introduction prompted the Gately family to release a statement to the Sunday IndependentSunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
, published on 16 May 2010, saying they "wish to make it clear that these statements are not correct and do not reflect the views of the family" and that Gately completed his secondary education and even attended college.
Illustrations
Gately's friend, Keith Wilson, contributed black-and-white line drawings to the book.Completion
Following Gately's death in SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in October 2009, the final drafts of The Tree of Seasons were completed in collaboration with June Considine and Jules Williams with Andrew Cowles writing the acknowledgements.
Promotion
Andrew Cowles embarked on an "extensive publicity campaign" following the book's publication. He appeared on The Late Late ShowThe Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
to discuss the book on 14 May 2010 and was nearly reduced to tears by the questions asked by presenter Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy , affectionately known as "Tubs", is an Irish broadcaster and writer, a presenter of live shows on radio and television in Ireland. He has been described as "one of Ireland's most gifted broadcasters"...
. Tubridy responded to criticism by later remarking that Cowles had given "a very solid, brave interview and I know for a fact that he's happy with the way it went".
Reception
Irish IndependentIrish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
reviewer Sarah Webb remarked: "For a young man with no previous writing experience, the Tree of Seasons is quite an achievement" and "would make, with the addition of some powerful songs, an excellent musical".
Sunday Tribune
Sunday Tribune
The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
reviewer Pat Nugent compared it to Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree series, remarked on "a host of kinks and clumsy moments that could have been fixed with relative ease", but said there was "a distinct possibility [Gately's] career as a children's author would have outpaced his status as a popstar".
At least 10,000 copies of The Tree of Seasons were pre-ordered in Ireland and at least 5,000 copies were pre-ordered in Britain.
At least 3,600 people called themselves fans on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
on the week of its release.