The Spirited Review - Emma and the Trees

Emma and the Trees / Emma minwaah mtigooh by Lenore Keeshig-Tobias, ill. by Polly Keeshig-Tobias, trans. by Rose Nadjiwon

Emma knows trees everywhere, and the trees know Emma too. She says Hi trees. Hello trees. How are you? Isn't it a nice day? and they reply Yes, Emma. It's a beautiful day.

It began one day when Emma did not want to wear her snowsuit, and did not want to go the store, and so she cried and screamed and flailed about. Emma's frazzled mother looked up and down the street, and finally, up into the trees. Look. Emma. Look, Mother said, The trees are waving at you. Up Emma looked and the trees waved back at her, and Emma stopped crying to stare at the trees. Now, Emma watches the trees, and the trees watch Emma, everywhere she goes.

Emma and the Trees is very simple, very sweet story. I read it to my 17-month old daughter the afternoon we got it in the mail, and we both were enchanted. She understood Emma, for she too talks to the trees, saying hi and bye-bye as we pass. To a small child, there is nothing strange about greeting a tree, or a rock, or a flower. If adults do not get in the way, or even, as this mother does, will show children how to greet their plant and animal elders, then they can and will learn to speak to trees, frogs and bumblebees. It is a first step towards ecoconsciousness; a child who sees a possible friend in every being will not treat those other lives carelessly.

Emma and the Trees is told in two languages, English and Ojibway, and is illustrated by simple line drawings in green. This is not a flashy book; because of the simple art, I wasn't sure what my own young daughter would make of it, but she happily pointed out the mother and the trees in the pictures and clearly understood. I now read the story to her as "Ciara and the Trees," encouraging her in her own tree-talking behavior, and she thinks the mama is her own.

Books for young children use certain methods to engage their audience, including playful sounds, repetitive rhythms, and stories that encourage activity or that show familiar experiences. Emma and the Trees reflects back a familiar world to its readers -- a world where trees can talk, and where children talk back... and gives parents and children a good reason to go outside to hear what they can hear.

Note: Emma and the Trees is available from Oyate (www.oyate.org).

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