The Collectors

Good friends Winslow and Rosie lead busy, independent lives. They have built a sturdy treehouse and made it into their own museum of natural wonders. They have filled the shelves with plant specimens, rocks and fossils, and even a wasp’s nest (no wasps in evidence).

Their collection was nearly complete. It had room for

only one final piece.

“It has to be something we’ve never found before!”

[says Winslow in a bold speech balloon]

“Something extraordinary!”

[emphasizes Rosie from her perch on a ladder where she is adding to the feather display]

The next spread shows all their collectors’ gear, from binoculars to matches, and including Rosie’s very important Field Journal in which she records what they find and the details of where and how it was found.

Today’s search leads through a forest, over fields and to the water’s edge. They certainly make a number of discoveries. But a wonderful purple geode is pronounced “Too heavy!”. A dinosaur skeleton is “Too big”. There’s a huge gold nugget at the bottom of the lake, but it’s “Too deep!”. (Are you starting to feel a little like Goldilocks here?)

When the girls go inside a cave, they are astonished by the stalactites and stalagmites they find, but these certainly cannot be transported back to the treehouse. And that’s the least of it. Their conversation has awoken a hibernating bear that comes rushing after them, eyes wide and teeth bared.

Winslow and Rosie ran as fast as they could,

down the mountain, along the lake, through

the spruce grove, past the overlook, up the

valley, across the creek and into their treehouse.

It seems as if the search for that final, extraordinary thing has come to nothing. But they do admit to having had an outstanding day exploring anyway.

Winslow and Rosie decided to try again tomorrow –

when, suddenly, they were interrupted by a strange noise.

The girls watched with wonder as three baby birds

hatched from their eggs.

Eggs which had been there all along in a nest outside the window of the treehouse museum. A very surprising and extraordinary thing.

Descriptive text with much of the cumulative cadence of a folktale tells a story of ingenuity, perseverance and joy in nature’s offerings. Each of the two child characters has her own clear traits and personality – Winslow is a bit more daring, Rosie is the organized one - but, at the same time, they have learned to work together as a team. These are not careful, demure girls concerned about school or family issues. They are bold and self-assured and a little bit unconventional, and comfortable with all that.

The author is also the illustrator here, and her landscapes and earth-toned palette clearly pay tribute to her Colorado home. The digital artwork uses elements of collage to make rocks, trees and human figures stand out on the page. One of the most amusing spreads is the one of Winslow and Rosie’s hasty return to the treehouse following the bear encounter. Two small figures appear repeatedly along the route they follow to safety. The enumeration here of the places they have passed through will remind readers to go back and examine the details of each place where a treasure was discovered.

Friendship, adventure and an unexpected ending. Who could ask for more?
The Collectors should be added to primary school and public library collections. Make a note of this title for use in your Earth Day programme next year.