Wake Up, My Chestnut

Åsa Mendel-Hartvig & Ane Gustavsson

On large spreads, we get to follow a young girl and her favorite tree. It’s winter and the large chestnut is asleep. The child tries to wake the tree with a flashlight, but it won’t awaken. Not even when the light of spring shines on it. It’s old and tired. Does it feel lonely? The child moves into the crown of the tree, to try to prevent it from being cut down. She kicks the ladder to the ground, just in case. The tree tells her about the chestnut babies. About one which was carried away by a dog and took root in the park, and another which travelled south in an old man’s pocket.

“I’m alive,” says the tree. “And I won’t ever die.”

A sublime picture book about the course of nature (and, ultimately, life) for all young philosophers. A quiet story on the surface, but rebellious and powerful underneath.