LIVING BRIDGES

A tribute to the Jingkieng Jri, bridges woven from the roots of living trees by the residents of northeastern India’s rainy Meghalaya state.

Though this child’s-eye view of the bridges—one, more than 100 feet long, arcs high over a monsoon-swollen river in Dwivedi’s lush, misty illustrations—is interesting enough, Acharya moves quickly into metaphorical territory. As her young protagonist learns from an older relative how to weave and guide dangling ficus roots through the sturdy structure to further strengthen it, the child reflects that the bridge is the work of time and many hands. That theme of community effort over generations is reinforced by notes and photos from the author and others at the end. Caring for the living bridge is an ongoing task; seeing several adult passersby marring its beauty by thoughtlessly leaving their litter as they troop across, the child organizes a general clean-up that leaves the whole group more appreciative of their gnarled, intricately woven local wonder. Readers, too, will likely be left mindful that living in and with their environment requires both long- and short-term attention. Human figures in the art and photos are brown-skinned.

A perceptive visit to a remote wonder that blends natural materials and human skills.