An award-winning picture book about kindness, persistence, inclusion--and the joy of giving--that doesn't preach or talk down to kids.Eleanor learns that climbing a tree is not as easy as a squirrel makes it look. But her curiosity is stronger than her frustration, and when she persists, she finds a fascinating new world to explore and the diverse inhabitants to share it with her. When her family moves away, Eleanor's heart aches for her beloved tree, and she wonders if it misses her too. Returning for one last visit, Eleanor shows a small boy how to climb the tree, and her act of kindness leads to an unexpected gift. First prize winner in the 2020 Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards in the category of Early Readers / Children's Picture Books. "A congenial celebration of play and generosity." -Kirkus Reviews A wonderful tree gives joy to children and animals in this picture book. Somehow Eleanor, a little blonde girl, has never really noticed the large oak tree in the yard. Hoping to play with a squirrel that's run up the tree, she decides to climb up herself. At first, it's a little scary, but soon Eleanor is climbing the tree every day for games of pretend or just to cheer herself up. She's sad to leave the tree when her family moves--but while visiting the new inhabitants, Eleanor teaches their little boy how to climb. The boy's mother gives Eleanor a bag of acorns to plant at her new home. In this first volume of her Happy Happy After series, Leary creates a warm, affectionate atmosphere and offers an engagingly high-spirited girl, one who doesn't let a first-time fall stop her from climbing. The tree isn't just a place to play; she shares it with animals, bugs, and a new friend: "There was room enough in her tree for everyone." Gal's illustrations, nicely varied in composition, color, and shading, also add diversity, depicting a boy and his hijab-wearing mother with light brown skin.A congenial celebration of play and generosity." -Kirkus Reviews Hi Readers! If you have spent a few moments exploring this page and got this far, thank you!  The Climbing Tree is dedicated to my first granddaughter, the "real" Eleanor.  Just as in the book, we must have passed the tree in her front yard a hundred times before realizing she was just tall enough to climb it--with a little help. It wasn't easy for her, but Eleanor is nothing if not persistent. Pretty soon, if the weather was halfway tolerable, she was racing home from school and climbing up her tree, where she would stay until her parents called her to dinner. It broke her heart to move away, and that became the basis for this story.  I hope you read The Climbing Tree outside with or to someone you love very much, and then look around and notice something beautiful in nature you never saw before.  -Barbara Born and raised in Virginia, Barbara Leary first started telling stories as a kid desperate for a little peace and quiet on long car trips with her parents and nine siblings. She works and writes from her 100-year-old farmhouse with views of the hills, four massive oak trees, and a small flock of doggish chickens.  The Climbing Tree  is the first of her "Happy Happy After Story" collection. The others are  Virginia Loves Dogs  and  Caroline and the Not-Mamma.