I'm Afraid, Said the Leaf

by Danielle Daniel, Matt James (Illustrator)

Overview

A touching, playful exploration of empathy and interdependency from an acclaimed author and illustrator.

I’m afraid, Said the leaf. / You’re not alone, Said the tree. But who will comfort a nervous bird, a lonely crab, a lost wolf? How can a horse find warmth, a snail some cheer, a child some rest? Through a series of amusing and soothing exchanges, this deceptively simple and profound picture book depicts different pairings to celebrate interconnectedness and underlines the importance of caring for every living organism to ensure a strong and healthy natural world. I’m Afraid, Said the Leaf invites young readers to understand that we all need each other for support and survival — and that we're all stronger together.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781774880715
Publisher:	Tundra
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
File size:	46 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

DANIELLE DANIEL is an acclaimed author and illustrator whose journey into art making and book publishing has gone hand in hand with all she has learned — and continues to learn — about her Indigenous ancestry and her relationship with the land. Her picture books include Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox (winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and selected as one of the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing), Sometimes I Feel Like a River, Once in a Blue Moon and You Hold Me Up, written by Monique Gray Smith. She has also written novels for children and adults and lives on Manitoulin Island among a large family of cedars, a husk of hares and a fifty-year-old Blanding’s turtle, who visits quite regularly.

MATT JAMES has won many fancy awards for his picture books such as the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, the New Mexico Book Award and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Children’s Literature. The books he has written include Tadpoles, Nice Try, Charlie! and his author-illustrator debut The Funeral, which was named a New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book. He has also illustrated When the Moon Comes by Paul Harbridge and The Stone Thrower by Jael Ealey Richardson. As a child Matt spent many hours admiring his reflection in the toaster — now he lives in Toronto and is much taller.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/04/2024

This thoughtful work begins with the sun reflected in a great body of water, watched by a pale-skinned child on the shore. A yellow leaf falls. “I’m afraid,” it says. A page turn sees a tree reassuring the leaf: “You’re not alone.” A baby bird in the tree’s branches speaks—“I could fall”—to which the wind supplies the promise “I will lift you.” The rhythm of call and response continues, with the child serving as witness throughout. Boldly stroked spreads from James (Tadpoles) convey life and power; the emotions that Daniel (Sometimes I Feel Like a River) suggests can be read in the creatures’ faces. Part of the story’s freshness flows from startling sources of generosity. When a deer notes, “I’m so worried,” the grass’s “I will comfort you” raises wonderful questions about what the grass is offering: A bed? Food? The companionship of innumerable growing things? At last, the child voices a wish of their own, and again, a generous answer comes from an unexpected place. Every worry is addressed and every need is met in this eloquent portrait of the interconnectedness of the living world. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. (May)

Publishers Weekly

PRAISE FOR I'm Afraid, Said the Leaf:

"Every worry is addressed and every need is met in this eloquent portrait of the interconnectedness of the living world." —STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly

"[T]he art renders the tale truly universal." —Kirkus Reviews

"The perfect book for any young reader who'd rather read outside." —Booklist

"[A] good picture book about kindness and how all species are interconnected and depend on each other "to exist and thrive in harmony."" —Metroland

"I’m Afraid, Said the Leaf will offer new connections to the natural and human worlds each time you read it with a fortunate child." —Imaginary Elevators

“A great book to get children thinking about nature and perhaps experience it in a way they hadn’t before!” —The Southern Bookseller

From the Publisher

2024-02-03
The interconnectedness of all earthbound beings centers this tale of fear, support, and love.

“I’m afraid,” says a single yellow leaf as it’s blown from its tree toward the water. “You’re not alone,” responds the tree. On the sand below, a human child watches this interaction. The book follows other usually uncommunicative species as they exhibit some very human emotions. “I could fall,” a little yellow bird in a nest says. The wind assures it, “I will lift you.” And as a squirrel says, “I’m so hungry,” a nut responds, “I will feed you.” In her author’s note, Daniel states that her tale taps into the interdependence of all living things and that “every single living thing depends on another living thing.” Yet it’s James’ art that elevates the exceedingly spare text emotionally. Using acrylic paint, he depicts a tan-skinned child who follows along, drawing a smiley face on the shore as the leaf falls, running along as the bird takes flight, and, overall, providing the necessary visual connection the text so desperately needs. The result is a poetic encapsulation of the connections among all living things on Earth.

The inner lives of different species may be the focus of this story, but it’s the art that renders the tale truly universal. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews