Image of the Week: Climbing the Live Oak
© Durga Yael Bernhard
This illustration is from my picture book Just Like Me, Climbing A Tree (2015, Wisdom Tales Press), a multicultural book about children climbing trees all over the world. The text takes the form of a rhyming poem about a child's physical interactions with the tree – but on each spread, it's a different child on a different tree in a different country.
What if you heard a bird in the branches above,
and your feet followed a root . . .
or you shimmied up a trunk so thick and tough,
and swung like monkeys do?
From Cambodia to Mexico, from South Africa to Holland to Australia, these kids are all doing the same thing – exploring trees. They climb and swing, creep and crawl, grasp and hang. The trees themselves are grand or gnarly, fruitful, shapely, or soaring with height – each with its own unique characteristics. For older kids, there's more information about each tree in the back of the book. Have you ever seen the fruit of a giant kapok? Did you know silkworms feed exclusively on mulberry leaves? Can you guess what kind of tree has fan-shaped leaves? It's all here in this book.
This particular illustration is on the last spread, where the poem ends with "my oldest and most patient friend," referring to a Southern live oak – so named because it holds its leaves all year round, making it look alive in winter. This massive tree has a short trunk and long, sweeping branches which almost touch the ground. It grows from the Carolinas to Florida to Texas. Its strong wood is used to build the hulls of ship; its strength against storms makes it good refuge for migrating and nesting birds – and for little boys and girls who need a peaceful sanctuary.
All over the world, children of all kinds are equally accepted into nature's patient embrace. In a world in which even toddlers are plugged into technology, this book is a reminder that all kids have a universal need: to get outside, play, and be in nature. Books and trees are an important part of childhood, providing comfort and refuge, beauty and learning and wonder.
I like to imagine a child sitting under a tree reading this book.
Just Like Me, Climbing A Tree is available in my webstore, and may be signed to the child of your choice. It's also available on Amazon, and on the publisher's website, World Wisdom.
D Yael Bernhard