This
past week has been an exciting one as I distributed copies of my first picture
book, Harry’s Trees, to my family. The book started as a way for my parents' great grandchildren to
remember their great grandpa who died in May this past year. Some of the children are preschoolers and in early school age years, as my own grandchildren are, and may not remember him later,
but it is my hope that they will enjoy the story and some day appreciate the legacy he left for them.
The
theme of trees has been paramount in Dad’s life. He learned about them as a
boy. They were Christmas trees; they were firewood to heat their home. They were
a home for birds, a place to pick fruit, and as a boy, something to climb. They're
a way of holding the earth in place, of cleaning the air. He learned lessons of
life through them too, through the season changes and a place where squirrels
climb and birds build their nests.
As
Dad grew older, he learned more about trees, such as how to
trim them when they were broken so that they might continue to thrive, and when
they needed to come down. Just as important he taught us to name them and respect them as
well.
Dad
learned about grafting branches from one tree and putting them on another, much
as doctors take an organ and transplant it into another body when the donor has
died, so that someone else might have a second chance at a healthy life.
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| Dad checking out the trees on a holiday in Jamaica |
Fellow writers offered much wonderful feedback
on my story in various stages, such as arranging the story into seasons. I
thank them all for their valuable suggestions.
As
I celebrate this book, and the memories of Dad that it evokes, along with the vivid and colourful illustrations of my talented artist, Maja Wizor, I dedicate it to my father for
all he gave us as we were growing up, especially the passion he shared of honouring God’s
creation.
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| a sample of illustrations within the book |
Carolyn R. Wilker, author of Once Upon a Sandbox and contributor to several anthologies, including Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon. Watch for Good Grief People book coming in late February.
