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I love that the publisher kept the “Mum” in this book instead of Americanizing it to “Mom.” Rosie does live in England and, according to her bio, has an Iranian mother and Scottish father, and Groenink was born and raised in the Netherlands. Still, I can imagine a publisher insisting that American readers wouldn’t understand “Mum” as well as “Mom” and changing the very title for a U.S. version, so I’m happy to see all the Mums here. <\/p>\n
A mother gently wakes her child, they catch a bus with buckets and tubs in hand, and the two visit what they call “our tree.” It’s a once-a-year outing, this trek to the mulberry tree. <\/p>\n
Mum squeezes my hand; her other hand’s full. We’re here! We’re here! Mum and me.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The tree stands on rolling hills in the country. The child is in awe. A stirring branch looks like a wave, a greeting from the tree. Mother and child pick and pluck berries. They sit under the branches during a rainfall. The sun sets, they head home, and they bake a pie. The child falls asleep with the “deep red” in mind and the taste of the pie on her tongue, already looking forward to next year’s trek to the tree. <\/p>\n
No dramatic conflicts here. No rising tension. It’s a snapshot of a child’s day with the mother she loves. And snacking on mulberries and baking a pie (complete with a homemade pie crust) is one glorious thing, but the time spent with mother is another altogether more satisfactory one. (Whether or not Mum is a single parent is up for debate, I suppose, but there’s no other parent in sight.) They have each other, and it’s all they need. <\/p>\n
It strikes me that this story (though it’s about a lot of things at once, including an appreciation for what nature has to offer) presents what all children need \u2014 the loving, mindful attention of at least one caretaker. I think of that perfect line of dialogue in the film Lady Bird<\/em>: “Don’t you think maybe they are the same thing? Love and attention?” <\/p>\n
Rosie captures the bonding beautifully with tender, plainspoken prose: Mum holding out a hand, “strong and steady”; mother and child sitting “side by side, knee by knee” on the bus; and Mum “safe in the arms of our tree.” (When Mum climbs the tree, it’s the one moment of worry in the book, though it quickly subsides; not even the rain deters them.) Groenink conveys their closeness with a warm, earth-toned palette, spot-on body language, and an elegant use of light and shadows. There’s a velvetiness here, as if the stuff of memories. Full-bleed spreads capture their outing in the lush grasses at the majestic tree; though the browns and greens of this hill dominate, flashes of red from the berries (which the child sees as “jewels”) pop off the page. <\/p>\n
Below are two final spreads, and I thank Chuck for sharing some preliminary images, including what he calls some “early character doodles.” (He also says that the mother, as you will see below, initially had a short haircut, “like my own mother’s.”)
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\nTwo images above: early sketches<\/em><\/center>
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\nSpread in progress<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nTwo images above: final spread<\/em>
(Click either image to see spread in its entirety)<\/center>
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\nA spread in progress<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nFinal spread<\/em>
(Click to enlarge)<\/center>
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\n(Click cover to enlarge)<\/em><\/center>
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\nMUM, ME, AND THE MULBERRY TREE. Text copyright \u00a9 2022 by Tanya Rosie. Illustrations copyright \u00a9 2022 by Chuck Groenink. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA on behalf of Walker Books, London.<\/em><\/p>\n* * * Jules’s Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
<\/center><\/p>\nNote for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.<\/p>\n
1)<\/strong><\/font> A four-mile walk on a beautiful trail with a friend … <\/p>\n
2)<\/strong><\/font> In which it actually did not feel like it was over 100 degrees. <\/p>\n
3)<\/strong><\/font> Shark cookies!<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n
4)<\/strong><\/font> My daughters have loved the Paper Girls comics<\/a><\/strong> for years now, so it was fun to start the television adaptation<\/a><\/strong> with them, which I’m really enjoying. <\/p>\n
5)<\/strong><\/font> Rediscovering an album<\/a><\/strong> I loved my freshman year of college. As in, I had altogether<\/em> forgotten it existed, so it’s been good to revisit it. <\/p>\n
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