Tennessee Trees Inspire Mona Batchelor’s Debut Children’s Novel

In Mona Martin Batchelor's debut children's novel, "Nora T and the Champion Tree," the retired McKenzie High School librarian uses the Tennessee Champion Tree Program to teach young readers about environmental stewardship, family traditions and the power one person has to make a difference. 

Batchelor described the book as a "roadmap love letter to Tennessee," featuring a number of references to Tennessee's culture — including mentions of Dolly Parton and the University of Tennessee at Martin's Skyhawks. It also pays tribute to Batchelor's Northwest Tennessee roots, based on her own family farmland in McKenzie.

Batchelor began writing "Nora T" fresh off the publication of her first book, "The Auctioneer's Daughter: Family Tales Retold." She self-published her first book, which was a collection of stories from her childhood, hoping the stories would live on even after she dies.

Writing "Nora T" was an entirely different process, Batchelor said. For one, it's her children's fiction debut. Secondly, it's her first time working with a publishing house.

When "The Auctioneer's Daughter" hit the market, Batchelor's friends, some of whom are also published authors, began asking her what was next. She had no clue.

She'd had several ideas swimming in her head, stories examining small town life versus big city life. She also wanted to write about something that was close to her heart. 

Batchelor became involved with the Tennessee Champion Tree Program in 2020, a year after her retirement. She and her husband Stephen had begun doing brush clearing on her family's cattle farm, which hadn't been maintained since her father died a few decades ago. 

This is where she came face-to-face with a huge American beech tree she remembered from her childhood.

“I remember my dad picking me up and holding me up to see that tree. And it was huge when I was a little girl, a really little girl. And I thought, this should be written down somewhere,” Batchelor said.

She went to the Internet, where she found out about the Tennessee Champion Tree Program. Each year, people across the state can nominate large trees to become "champion trees." A team goes out each summer and measures each nominated tree across the state, measuring height, trunk circumference and crown spread. After measuring, they decide if the tree's size supersedes the past champion tree.

"But what that does is it creates a database of all the old trees in Tennessee," Batchelor said.

For Batchelor, the Champion Tree Program isn't about winning — although she does concede that the competition aspect is fun — but it is about keeping records of her family trees, many of which measure to be over 200 years old.

Several of Batchelor's trees have won Tennessee champion titles, including the aforementioned American beech tree. She was also the owner of a champion tulip poplar tree — which is illustrated on the cover of "Nora T and the Champion Tree." 

From Batchelor's champion tree experience, "Nora T" was born.

In the story, 11-year-old Nora T Singleton, who lives in a high-rise apartment in Nashville, visits her grandparents' farm in Northwest Tennessee during her summer break. While there, she becomes curious about the trees on her grandparents' property. Her Gran introduces her to the Tennessee Champion Tree Program and urges Nora to submit a tulip poplar tree for consideration. In the process, Nora learns a lot about trees, the environment and activism.

"Nora T and the Champion Tree" started as a 36-page picture book — an avenue that Batchelor saw as much easier to pursue than a full-out novel. She contacted former student Maggie Latimer to illustrate the book, having spoken with her years beforehand about book illustrating.

"The first part of the book was going to be fiction," Batchelor said, "and then when you flip the book over, the last half of it was going to be nonfiction, more technical information about the Champion Tree program."

She finished writing the picture book, and she didn't know where to go next. She didn't want to self-publish this one. She began doing a lot of research and eventually began seeking university presses. One of her friends, who is an author in Knoxville, told her about the University of Tennessee Press and encouraged her to submit the story. 

She sent an email to Katie Hannah, the director of the University of Tennessee Press, in the summer of 2024. That same afternoon, she received an email back.

It was bad news. The University of Tennessee Press was not interested in publishing children's books — especially not picture books.

However, Hannah gave Batchelor an olive branch: she asked if Batchelor was interested in turning her story into a children's novel.

Batchelor jumped on the offer. Within a month, she turned "Nora T" into an 80-page first draft of a novel.

Hannah was thrilled. Batchelor continued working on the story until January of 2025, when Hannah submitted it to the University of Tennessee Press Board of Directors.

The board unanimously voted to publish "Nora T." It would go on to become the University of Tennessee Press's second-ever story published under its new children's publishing program. The first, "My Magic Tux: A Big Orange Story of Courage and Confidence" by J. R. Greene and Joe Shands, released in July 2026.

The final version of "Nora T and the Champion Tree" is 128 pages and still features Latimer's artwork throughout. The book's cover, also illustrated by Latimer, features the titular character looking up at the towering tulip poplar tree she would nominate for the Tennessee Champion Tree Program.

"The press is delighted to add this engaging and informative title to our burgeoning children’s list," Hannah said. "Mona is a terrific writer, and young readers will love Nora T’s story. They might even learn something new!"

"Nora T and the Champion Tree" examines a multitude of topics, including the environmental impact of large trees and how small changes can make a big impact. It also examines multi-generational relationships and the value of learning from older generations. 

Batchelor's "Nora T and the Champion Tree" is a middle grade-novel, friendly for readers in grades 3-6 and equally as enjoyable for adults of any age. It releases September 29, 2026, and is available to pre-order in paperback, hardcover or e-book format through all major booksellers.