Jennifer Fox photos
By Jennifer Fox, teacher-librarian and Teacher Magazine Advisory Board member, Dawson Creek THE I AM LIKE A TREE SERIES, written by Nanaimo authors Kerry Armstrong and Terri Mack, caught my attention immediately. It is deceptively simple at first, but is filled with complex ideas about emotional states, connecting, expressing, and belonging. The series uses a tree as a metaphor for understanding emotions and yourself. Each of the four books focuses on a different emotion represented by a specific tree part. The illustrations, by Lisa Shim, are clear and easy to understand. There are three important visual aspects to the page layout: the foreground, background, and side panels. The side panels show the present emotional state of each character using the parts of the tree and the text (see photo above). This strengthens the metaphor of the tree and helps students identify what is happening internally for each character using visual cues and language. Most characters have no obvious gender labels so all students can see themselves reflected in the story. I was given the opportunity to have a conversation with the authors to discuss their conception, purpose, and structure of the series. They emphasized conversation as a
way of connecting; this is reflected in the series. The stories focus on dialogue between characters on specific emotional states, including how mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional experiences affect one another. During our conversation, Terri talked about the series taking much of its style from her knowledge of First Nations storytelling. For example, meaningful words and phrases are repeated for emphasis. Belonging is a key word that occurs throughout the book as it shows that everyone needs a metaphorical forest. Kerry shared, “It is essential for us to belong no matter how different we may appear.” The final page of each book includes suggested talking points, inquiry ideas and activities to guide teachers as they share the books with their classes. Both authors encourage using the readers’ theatre format to engage students. Teachers can also have students write progressive responses to character experiences, invite an Elder to talk about storytelling’s purpose, or build a tree with their class that can reflect different emotions. Can you use just one of the books? Certainly! However, the four books in the series connect all the parts of the metaphorical tree and are more powerful when used together.
This series is useful and engaging for students of all ages. So, how am I, a high school teacher-librarian, going to use this series? I am in the process of designing a tree in a high-traffic space with a description of each emotional part. I will make these books available and accessible for students because I believe they have the potential to support students’ emotional growth. Terri noted, “Every tree has its own incredible lived experience, its own story, just like we do.” When students learn about empathy and understand their emotions and sense of belonging, they will, hopefully, learn to connect with themselves and others.
MORE INFORMATION Listen to Terri Mack and Kerry Armstrong discuss the I Am Like a Tree series on YouTube: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=gmoGQSLXYPs Jan/Feb 2021 TEACHER 35
BOOK REVIEWS
Cultivating emotional intelligence through metaphor