Tuesday Tome - Kooser for Kids

Last Friday morning, we took our grandsons (and their parents) for a family field trip to the Wild Rumpus Book Store. We headed to the Linden Hills neighborhood, and, as always, had a fun adventure. We saw a wise lizard, a cat in an old storybook chair, a fancy chicken, and, of course, LOTS of great books. If you have a child between the ages of 3 and 10, do yourself a favor and schedule a morning to take them to Wild Rumpus.

We found some great books for the little boys, and, unsurprisingly, we also found a picture book for the old boy too. I got a copy of House Held Up by Trees by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser and the artist, Jon Klassen. Kooser's writing is simple and thoughtful, as expected, and Klassen's illustrations are beautiful and painstakingly attentive to the text.

Book Description: When the house was new, not a single tree remained on its perfect lawn to give shade from the sun. The children in the house trailed the scent of wild trees to neighboring lots, where thick bushes offered up secret places to play. When the children grew up and moved away, their father, alone in the house, continued his battle against blowing seeds, plucking out sprouting trees. Until one day the father, too, moved away, and as the empty house began its decline, the trees began their approach. At once wistful and exhilarating, this lovely, lyrical story evokes the inexorable passage of time — and the awe-inspiring power of nature to lift us up.

On a personal note, the book reminds me of the little house where my Grandma and Grandpa Taylor lived in Ladysmith, Wisconsin--the only place we ever visited them during my childhood years. The place was magical for me with its chicken coop, bee hives, a couple old dogs in a barn, a huge flower garden, an even bigger vegetable garden, and grandpa's Standard Oil delivery truck parked out front. We spent our days playing in the nearby fields abundant with wild strawberries, the wooded hills, and marshy ditches which were usually roiling with minnows and pollywogs.

About ten years ago, I was on a trip that passed right through Ladysmith, so I decided to take a few minutes to look for the little homestead where my grandparents had lived. When I found it, I was saddened to find a scene much like one described in the final pages of House Held Up by Trees. Time passes, seasons come and go, and tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow slowly but surely creeps in and takes over our petty little spaces.