Sometimes I Feel Like an Oak

March 15, 2024
Musings on emotions, through a Native lens. "Sometimes I feel like a maple," a young child notes, "full and most generous. / I share my flowing sap / as winter turns toward spring." Alongside acrylic and gouache images from Traverse (Ojibway), the narrative's gentle formula continues: Children identify their moods and characteristics and compare themselves to different trees, including a redwood, a cedar, and an aspen. On the full-bleed spreads, youngsters who vary in skin tone play, read, and quietly gaze at the trees, expressing a wide range of emotions both positive and negative. "Sometimes I feel like a willow, / shivery, sensitive and sad." But "sometimes I feel like a tamarack, / resilient, striking, robust." Backmatter lists the name of each tree, alongside a portrait and an associated emotion; readers are asked to reflect on what they "see and feel in the trees around" them. In an author's note, Daniel connects her Algonquin ancestry to her understanding of trees as "sentient beings with spirits who can feel things." Both the people and the land come to life in Traverse's vibrant illustrations, which convey the majesty and evocative nature of trees. This simple story will invite children to relate to trees as teachers and healers, ones whom we might greet "as we would a person--worthy of kindness, respect, protection and love." Tender and thought provoking. (Picture book. 4-7)

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May 1, 2024
Daniel's (Sometimes I Feel like a Fox; Sometimes I Feel like a River) latest offering invites readers to commune with trees. Short first-person verses assign attributes to twelve different trees ("Sometimes I feel like a maple, / full and most generous... / Sometimes I feel like a birch, / smooth and fresh, anew"), following the cycle of the year from early spring to late winter. Traverse's lush acrylic and gouache illustrations never depict a tree in its entirety, with the tops always breaking the edge of the page. This choice suggests that art cannot fully capture the trees' majesty and encourages readers to imagine what lies beyond the confines of the page, reinforcing Daniel's core concept that there is more to trees than meets the eye. Back matter offers thumbnail images of each tree, restating their names and highlighting the attributes Daniel's verses assigned to them -- generosity for the maple, optimism for the birch, and so on. A closing author's note begins, "Like my Algonquin ancestors, I believe that trees are sentient beings with spirits who can feel things," prompting readers to reflect on what they, in turn, feel as they consider this Indigenous perspective and how it inspired this book. Megan Dowd Lambert

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

June 28, 2024

PreS-Gr 3-There are parallels, if we nurture them, between humans and trees. Using plenty of simile, in 12 poems the author builds connections between the features of a tree and the qualities that can be found within ourselves. "Sometimes I feel like a maple, full and most generous. I share my flowing sap as winter turns toward spring." The latest in the "I Feel Like" series celebrates the majesty and resilience of trees and invites readers to find those qualities within themselves. "Sometimes I feel like a birch, smooth and fresh, anew. My curling bark peels gently away with bright and brimming hope." These words are perfectly supported by the glorious illustrations in acrylics and gouache by Ojibway illustrator Traverse; the scenes capture the beauty and spiritual nature of trees and all those spending time with them. VERDICT Lyrical language that celebrates both trees and humans, accompanied by beautiful illustrations, make this a worthy addition to most collections.-John Scott

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2024
Daniel's (Sometimes I Feel like a Fox; Sometimes I Feel like a River) latest offering invites readers to commune with trees. Short first-person verses assign attributes to twelve different trees ("Sometimes I feel like a maple, / full and most generous... / Sometimes I feel like a birch, / smooth and fresh, anew"), following the cycle of the year from early spring to late winter. Traverse's lush acrylic and gouache illustrations never depict a tree in its entirety, with the tops always breaking the edge of the page. This choice suggests that art cannot fully capture the trees' majesty and encourages readers to imagine what lies beyond the confines of the page, reinforcing Daniel's core concept that there is more to trees than meets the eye. Back matter offers thumbnail images of each tree, restating their names and highlighting the attributes Daniel's verses assigned to them -- generosity for the maple, optimism for the birch, and so on. A closing author's note begins, "Like my Algonquin ancestors, I believe that trees are ­sentient beings with spirits who can feel things," prompting readers to reflect on what they, in turn, feel as they consider this Indidenous perspective and how it inspired this book.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)