Title: Old, Old Willow Tree
Authors: Vernon & Linward Campbell
Publisher: XlibrisUK
ISBN: 978-1-9845-9037-4
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Pages: 38
Reviewed by: Beth Adams

Read Book Review

The combined talents of authors Vernon & Linward Campbell, along with illustrations by Stewart Campbell, have synergistically come together to create this fanciful children’s story titled Old, Old Willow Tree.

This book has all of the quintessential qualities of an epic adventure story; a major disaster, followed by a plan by a King, then challenges which bring the mission into jeopardy, to finally and ultimately solving the puzzle. The authors put to an enjoyable rhyme and beat the story using imagery both in text and amazing drawings. As parents page this book while reading it to their children, the authors have given parents an opportunity to fall into a rhythmic loving and thoughtful voice. This will add to the story’s impact, which will undoubtably make an imprint on their youngsters’ curious minds. The variations of point size in this galley text will enable readers to accentuate their voices in a powerful auditory or mental fashion, and coupled with the imaginative illustrations of the characters and background environment of the fantasy world of Floss, the story comes to life like none other. This is a very detailed work within a structure of a children’s story, yet capable of entertaining all who read it.

The choice of characters is perfectly adapted to the roles each play in the story. Especially the Weeping Willow tree – who cries at the losses and hardships of all those it encounters. The King has the elements of boldness, strength and wisdom – yet being wise enough to seek the help of his close magician advisor for guidance, that is, once the magician finds his lost crystal ball. The illustrations are very well done; in fact, on page 24 there is a drawing of the King holding up the crystal ball showing the refraction of the image through the clear glass, which reminded me of the M. C. Escher self-portrait in which he is holding a reflecting globe while drawing what his eye was viewing. The ending of the book has a song which can be sung by parents and children alike, but frankly I was at a loss to see the melody, either by having a written musical score or, for example, a hyper-link to a YouTube performance. However, this does not take away from the elements inherent in this marvelous book; a must for a family library or ideal as a gift for a youngster’s adventurous spirit.

Old, Old Willow Tree is definitely not a book to be passed up, and hopefully we will see more stories by this original and creative trio of talent.