A Walk in the Woods
by Nikki Grimes (Author) Brian Pinkney (Illustrator)
A week after the funeral
I stare in the morning mirror
Angry that my father’s eyes
Stare back at me.
Confused and distraught after the death of his father, a boy opens an envelope he left behind and is surprised to find a map of the woods beyond their house, with one spot marked in bright red. But why? The woods had been something they shared together, why would his father want him to go alone?
Slowly, his mind settles as he sets off through the spaces he once explored with his dad, passing familiar beech and black oak trees, flitting Carolina wrens, and a garter snake they named Sal. When he reaches the spot marked on the map, he finds pages upon pages of drawings of woodland creatures, made by his father when he was his age. What he sees shows him a side of his dad he never knew, and something even deeper for them to share together. His dad knew what he really needed was a walk in the woods.
New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes and the Caldecott Award winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney spent the early days of the pandemic emailing back and forth and talking about collaborating on a book, with Jerry sharing all of the pictures he took of the woods around his house. From this, they conjured a story of a boy’s struggle with grief, and all the things he sees and feels on a walk through the forest.
Jerry sadly passed away in the fall of 2021, but not before he delivered tight pencil sketches of the forests he loved. When his son Brian took on the task of completing the illustrations, he found himself connecting with his father in a whole new way, his experience mirroring that of the boy in the book. The result is a simultaneously touching and deeply authentic story about the ways shared pastimes keep us close to those we’ve lost.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
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Publishers Weekly
In an elegantly collaborative picture book about how "there's always something that remains," Grimes (Bedtime for Sweet Creatures), the late Jerry Pinkney (The Lion and the Mouse), and Brian Pinkney (Hey Otter! Hey Beaver!) center a grieving Black narrator following his beloved father's death. A week after the funeral, the child, questioning aloud ("Why did you have to leave?"), opens an envelope left behind and finds a map of the nearby woods that he and his dad often explored--"with a marked spot shouting in bright red: 'TREASURE.' " Emotions run high as the child heads to the woods, encountering memories and remaining alert to changing elements. "With each step, the hurt inside my heart pounds less." Arriving at the marked spot, he finds a locked box, and inside, a sheaf of illustrations and poems about woodland animals--all created by his father at the child's age, and all revealed in detail for the reader. Meditatively commanding text accompanies structural sketches that Jerry Pinkney completed before his death as well as loose, forest-hued wash overlays from Brian Pinkney. It's a powerfully layered call to creativity and loving bonds that endure beyond death: "I close my eyes, and feel Dad next to me, his hand on my shoulder, light as leaves." Creators' notes conclude. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. Illustrator's agent: (for Jerry Pinkney) Sheldon Fogelman, Sheldon Fogelman Agency; (for Brian Pinkney) Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Sept.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
This moving and lyrical account of a Black boy finding solace in nature combines the remarkable talents of three greats of children's literature.—Shelf Awareness
JUV013060 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Parents
JUV032170 - Juvenile Fiction | Sports & Recreation | Camping & Outdoor Activities
African Americans
Fathers and sons
Picture books
Nature
Grief
