Flicker and the Beleaf Tree follows a fox living in a magical tree that shakes a leaf when someone needs help, who helps a little boy who is overwhelmed by the noise and rush of school. What inspired the idea of a tree that holds children’s worries, hopes, and “beleafs”?

Honestly, it came from my own experience as a kid. I was kind of a weird kid. I felt things deeply, but I didn’t really know how to process them or explain what was going on inside me.

A lot of the time, I just held it in because I didn’t have a place to put those feelings.

I knew that I wanted a visual anchor for the world of Flicker and I thought a big magical tree would be the perfect icon. I went through many iterations of the tree and what it could do or what it meant to the world. I eventually landed on the idea that each leaf was a magical entry for modern families learning to grow and thrive in the world.

The Beleaf Tree became the place I wish I had as a child, and still as an adult. Somewhere to put a worry, a hope, or even just a feeling I didn’t fully understand yet and know it’s okay that it exists. That it can be okay to sit with that feeling and explore it.

The artwork plays a huge role in creating calm and understanding. How did you envision the visual tone?

I wanted it to feel like the opposite of overwhelm. I come from a design background so many of the early conversation with the Illustrator, Nina Millen, were about the tone and visual language of the story. I knew I wanted a lot of negative white space to center and focus the illustrations. What developed was a calm and safe environment that fit perfectly with the story. 

As we continued to develop the illustrations a flower motif began to emerge and I asked Nina to really lean into that. The story itself is about a child growing, as well as the parents and we thought flowers were a great example of what it takes to bloom in to a better version of yourself. You’ll see this in the family’s home or in the shadows when the parents pick up the child from school. Their shadows are towering trees, while the child is a small tree beginning to grow.

The goal was to create a space where a families could slow down for a second and feel safe, even if just for a few minutes.

The story doesn’t “fix” the child’s struggle but supports him through it. Why was that important?

Because sometimes real stories don’t have a solution, they have more questions than answers. I wanted modern families to reflect on the fact that we don’t have all those answers as adults and maybe it’s okay to sit in the in between for a while and be okay with that.

So I didn’t want the story to solve the problem. I wanted it to sit with it. To show that support matters more than having all the answers.

What do you hope children who feel overwhelmed will take from this story?

That they’re not the only one who feels that way. And that their struggles can be their super powers.

When you’re a kid, and even as adults, you can feel overwhelmed, it can feel like something’s wrong with you. Like everyone else has it figured out and you don’t.

I hope this story helps everyone realize that’s not true. That the feelings are valid, and that they don’t have to hide them or rush past them to be okay. That just “being” is enough to grow and thrive in the world today.

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