Leonard Library Celebrates 75th Anniversary of ‘A Tree Grows In Brooklyn’

WILLIAMSBURG – To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Public Library’s Leonard branch will be designated a literary landmark in honor of the classic coming-of-age novel.

Published in 1943, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn chronicles the life of Francie Nolan, who like the book’s author, grew up in a Williamsburg tenement in the early 1900s. Smith’s family lived on the top floor of a tenement building on Grand Street, four blocks away from the Leonard Library. In the book, Francie finds comfort from her often difficult life at the Leonard Library, where she learned that “the world was hers for reading.”

On Wednesday, November 14 (5pm to 7:30pm) join BPL President and CEO Linda E. Johnson, Smith’s daughter Nancy Pfeiffer, Smith’s granddaughter Liz Aivano, and elected officials as they host the Betty Smith Literary Landmark plaque dedication and reception at the Leonard Library. Amy Lyons, the cover illustrator of HarperCollins’ 75th anniversary edition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn will also be at the event. RSVP here.

At the Leonard Library Thursday night (November 15 from 7pm to 8:30pm), writers Jen Doll, Rita Meade, Robert Rorke, and The Lit Bar (Bronx’s first bookstore/wine bar) founder Noelle Santos, discuss and reevaluate A Tree Grows in Brooklyn as part of BPL’s Second Read series. Learn more here.