The Big Leaf Leap

Molly Beth Griffin
Illustrated by Meleck Davis

Minnesota Historical Society Press (September 2022)

The leaves are down. The rakes are out. But one girl can’t do it alone. Neighborhood kids join forces to build a big, huge, enormously enormous mountain of leaves. Ready, set . . . leap!

Description

The girl wants a leaf pile to leap in. A big leaf pile, a huge leaf pile, an enormously enormous leaf pile! She rakes and rakes and rakes, but there are not enough leaves in her yard to make the leaf pile of her dreams. And she can’t do it alone. She will need some help.

And so it begins: one neighbor kid here, a couple of neighbor kids there, others from down the street. They all have leaves to contribute as they build a pile together in a nearby vacant lot. Beautiful leaves from so many trees: maple, oak, ginkgo, aspen, birch, locust, sumac, catalpa. Beautiful children from so many families, all in pursuit of a single goal. The result is a dream come true. And now what? These kids know just what to do.

In The Big Leaf Leap, playful phrasing evokes fall’s crisp air, warm sun, and rustling leaves. Energetic illustrations—with characters based on the illustrator's own neighborhood kids—depict the satisfying effort of new friends working together to create something wonderful. A deep, soft, crunchy, springy leaf pile. A tall, wide leaf pile. A big, huge, enormously enormous leaf pile! And when all the work is done, it's time to play. To count down together. To leap.

Coloring Pages

Author Information

Molly Beth Griffin is the author of Loon Baby, Silhouette of a Sparrow, Rhoda's Rock Hunt, Ten Beautiful Things, and the School Sidekicks series, as well as two poetry chapbooks. She is a graduate of the Hamline University MFA program in writing for children and young adults and a writing teacher at the Loft Literary Center. She lives in Minneapolis.