Maple the brave by Chloe Jasmine Harris

Walker Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781925381924.
(Age: 4+) Bravery, Fear, Seasons. Madge lives in a little house, high above the trees. Here she has the water from the roof and the trees are so close that she can pick the fruit from their branches. But she is wracked by fear of the unknown. And the worst fear is about the animals that live on the forest floor, so she never ventures there.
But one day the water stops falling and the trees begin to wilt, no longer producing any fruit. She must go to the forest floor to find food. But she is so frightened. She ventures down amongst the dark trees and once there meets the animals she has been so frightened of. They are welcoming, and teach her to run swiftly, to swim, to climb and to travel over rough waters. She becomes an adventurer, staying with her new friends, learning from them how to survive. But she must return to her home and her friends go back with her until it is time for them to return to their on homes.
Cutely illustrated, the story of Maple and her home in the sky will appeal to those who like to be by themselves, who crave time out, but also know that they cannot live by themselves, that we all need others to survive.
Maple is a engaging young girl, and readers will enjoy seeing how she lives by herself, picking out the detail shown in her home. Teachers will be able to talk about the seasons represented in the book and the sort of adventures Maple has on the forest floor and how she overcomes her irrational fears of the unknown. Activities are available in Walker's storytime kit.
Fran Knight