THE GOLDEN ASPEN

This children’s book shows how the smallest act of kindness–a tree sheltering a boy through a cold windy night–leads to that kindness being returned tenfold.

Through words and images that are simple and straightforward, Price unfurls the tale of a downtrodden but caring aspen tree who became “king of the mountain forest.” The book begins when the tree was a little one and looked down upon, literally and figuratively, by the bigger scrub oaks and firs. However, the animals of the forest–the snowy white owl, rabbits, marmots, gray wolf, deer and elk, all conjured in bright watercolor brushstrokes–see the aspen and its heart-shaped leaves in a different light. They predict that one day the puny, nondescript tree will grow up to be the envy of all the others. After the passing of several seasons a boy arrives, shivering from the cold, prompting the aspen to rally his forest friends around to keep him warm under its branches. Fifteen years later, that boy returns a man and proclaims, “In the fall of the year, when winter approaches, your leaves will turn golden in color. Your descendents will share this mark of favor.” This is an ingenious ending made visible in the final picture of a mountain covered in lush gold-leaved trees, giving the small reader an actual metaphorical image of kindness–and how it expands and grows–to reflect upon. The book is slow-moving, with none of the thrilling adventure aspects that make up an inordinate amount of children’s books nowadays. Still, the beauty of paying it forward is rendered quite realistically. In an age of high-speed Internet and microwave meals, The Golden Aspen also serves as a pleasant reminder that the best things come to those who wait.

A golden nugget.