I AM A LEAF

A child explores various emotional states, leaving readers better suited to do the same.

An unnamed protagonist with skin the white of the page interacts with leaves of varying shapes and sizes in order to communicate each mood. “One day I am BLOWING,” the youngster announces, arms flung back, chasing leaves across the page. But on another day, “I can’t get going,” the child concedes, crouched in the corner of the page. Featuring a protagonist whose openness to the world is tempered by an awareness of its challenges, this study in contrasts accomplishes its meditative task through an artful blend of well-chosen words, expressive shifts in body language, and dexterous placement of photographs of aged, even moldering leaves in an array of fall colors. Mozzillo’s spare text, translated from Italian, conveys impressive nuance through its perfect rhymes and unrhyming couplets. Meanwhile, Balducci’s short and soft digital pencil sketches complete illustrative scenes rambling across vast white expanses that either embrace or ignore the gutter, splitting it cleanly with the vein of a leaf in one spread; another sees the protagonist riding a galloping horse across it. Reminiscent of Aimée Sicuro’s If You Find a Leaf (2022), this philosophical pick begs readers to embark on nature walks and sketch themselves into their own collages; it should find frequent use among science and art educators.

A contemplative and poetic tale for emotionally attuned young naturalists.