And I Climbed and I Climbed

“Sometimes I wonder why you didn’t catch me when I fell through your arms” writes an 8 year old boy to the tree from which he fell. Now disabled, Cosmo has a lot of questions for this tree. Why didn’t it listen when he was asking for help? Do other trees ever treat it differently? Why is it still there outside his house and still growing? Cosmo would like to dig it up and move it a very long way away.

This beautiful and powerful book is written entirely in the form of short letter poems. As well as voicing his anger, we see Cosmo start to consider how his life has changed – from the practicalities (such as the logistics of using a wheelchair) to the attitudes, in the form of encounters with bus drivers and people who insist on calling him ‘brave’.

We join Cosmo at the start of what is going to be a long journey. He’s just beginning to explore how he feels. And not surprisingly the feelings fluctuate – sometimes he’s angry, sometimes frustrated, sometimes philosophical, sometimes optimistic. The result is a unique collection of poems that are honest, painful and thought-provoking. They are also tinged with humour and hope. Most importantly, they are authentic – based as they are on the author’s own childhood experience of a life-changing accident. Interspersed with Cosmo’s letters are occasional contributions from members of his family, sharing the briefest of glimpses into some of the perspectives of his loved ones.

With free-verse poems that are punchy and accessible, and with equally sparing illustrations by Shih-Yu Lin, this is an important and beautifully affecting book.