The leaf is such a warm and inviting story, and you get that sense by looking at the front cover which is a beautiful pastel green: the color of nature, life, calmness, and growth.
Stephen Michael King’s illustrations are simple, yet meaningful sketches. This book is not completely wordless. King has used onomatopoeias (sound effects) to add interest to his illustrations. I think children will be amused by his choice of words which include ‘snippety snip’, ‘flapper flap’, ‘glug’, ‘boing’, and ‘sploosh’.
At the beginning of the story, we meet a young, rambunctious, happy boy who is full of life except that he is not very keen for his mum to cut his hair.
He runs away from his mother to the garden where he frolics and plays with his dog. It is here that a bird drops a seed into his hair- ‘Does she mistake his hair for a nest?’ a reader might ask. A seedling sprouts from his head. It is nurtured with care, sunshine, and water by the boy, and sparks his imagination.
After a dream that his seedling is pruned, he wakes and starts the next day in much the same manner as the previous day. His enthusiasm comes to a halt when he sees his mum with a pair of scissors in her hand. This time he doesn’t get away and she trims his hair, seedling and all.
Although broken and disheartened, the boy does not lose hope. He replants the seedling into the ground and nurtures it until it is a mature tree where he can bring his children in years to come.
The end of the book sees a bird drop a seed into the head of his dog, and a seedling sprouts…..
It is probably important to note that Leaf is made up of 64 pages, much longer than an average picture book. When reading with a child, this book could easily be enjoyed over several sessions.
As with many wordless books, the story is open to interpretation and has many layers. This story is about the growth of plant life but it’s also an analogy for imagination and ideas. Living species and imagination both grow with ideas, care, love, and enthusiasm, and there will be hurdles that can be overcome.
You might also be interested in other Wordless Picture Books
Leaf
Buy online from The Nile
Stephen Michael King
ISBN:978-1741696776
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Scholastic Australia, April 2010
