In the darkest of times, CLIMB ON!

NorthSouth Books, 2022

CLIMB ON comes from the brilliant pairing of author Baptiste Paul and illustrator Jacqueline Alcantara. (Previously paired on prize-winning picture book, THE FIELD).

Before I discuss the book itself, let me repeat my deeply-held belief that an excellent picture book is as powerful for older kids AND adults of any age as it is for the indicated target reader age. When I launched this blog in 2012, my initial post included my opinion that the best picture books can and do reach and teach and comfort and entertain adults every bit as well as they do for children. Layers of theme and emotion can be unconsciously absorbed by the very young through the joy (or care) in a well-told and illustrated story. 

But adults, who have experienced so very many more years of heart and power and honesty and deception, will find in these few colorful pages a force of therapy and thought that is worth far more than the  cost of the book or the effort to pick it up at the library.

That's what I hope  might happen for a few personal friends if they pause to explore within this vibrant and vital picture book. When loss and struggle and exhaustion and commitment drain the spirit from those who I have witnessed as tireless leaders and creatives, there is so little I can do to offer relief. The best I can hope for is to send them my concern and hopes for the strength they need to keep putting one foot in front of the other, when that feels challenging, or even impossible.

Which brings me back to the actual content of this new and heartwarming picture book. From cover to cover, from dedication to endpaper challenges, from lush interior spreads to luminous bilingual text (English-Creole), this is an irresistible picture book. The story, too, is magnetic, with a prepared. curious, determined young girl who holds her daddy to his promise to climb with her to the tippy-top of a jungle crest. Even though Daddy feels it is fine day to spend on the couch, streaming his favorite football club (obviously soccer!), daughter moves him and the story up, up, up, pursuing her own mission to CLIMB ON!

Along the way Daddy's reluctant attitude continues, despite daughter's discoveries, celebratory engagement, and repeated enthusiastic invitations. Until...

No spoiler here, but chance and parental commitment come into play to elevate determination for both, to reap the rewards of their efforts with awe and shared satisfaction, and top off the day with exuberant excitement and joyful abandon. 

There are so many things about this book that little ones will find thrilling and surprising and delightful, including the possibility of learning some simple Creole phrases to use in their own playful daily lives. My library copy was particularly helpful in NOT taping down the back of their protective case cover. The memory and visual challenge presented on the pasted-down endpaper would have meant little fingers prying loose their efforts anyway while trying to peek under a taped down case to find the visual search prompts during a second (and more) read.

I hope this description is enough to make this a family, classroom, or gift purchase. But give some added thought to anyone you know who is in the midst of  hard times, who is waking each day only to wonder how they will make it through to the end of that day, let alone resist depression and conclude whatever challenge they might be facing. Give this book a look with them in mind. Consider sharing it with folks who have always been the ones to step up and reach out to you and others. The folks who seem to be endlessly optimistic, to draw on a bottomless well of energy, using that effort for the good of others. Those same folks who you know (or suspect) might now be mired in really tough times. This joyful, inspiring, heartwarming, and encouraging story might be just what they need. Especially if it is delivered along with an offer of a listening ear, a sure hand, or a quiet "ask when you need help" in their ear. 

In other years of this blog I'd have likely emphasized the positivity and parental relationship and delicious eye candy that this book is. With the thought of friends who would love it with open arms, but whose arms and hearts are now filled with burdens, the depth of the story resonates with me at every page turn. 

This, too, this power of picture books to meet you where you are in different ways at different times, is why I continue to read, write, examine closely, and celebrate picture books. if you are reading here, I suspect you agree. I hope that you will give this one the reading it deserves, and read the needs of your friends, as well. 

And to my struggling friends, CLIMB ON!