Leif and the Fall

By: Allison Sweet Grant, Adam Grant

Narrated by: Allison Sweet Grant, Adam Grant

Persistence and creativity can lead to amazing things, as Leif the leaf discovers in this lovely storybook from Allison Sweet Grant and Adam Grant, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Originals.

Leif is a leaf. A worried leaf. It is autumn, and Leif is afraid to fall. "All leaves fall in the fall," say the other leaves. But Leif is determined to find a different way down, and with his friend Laurel, he uses the resources around him to create a net, a kite, a parachute in hopes of softening his landing. The clock is ticking, the wind is blowing. What will happen when a gust of wind pulls Leif from his branch?

In a culture that prizes achievement, kids are often afraid to fail--failing to realize that some of the very ideas that don't work are steps along the path to ones that will.

Critic reviews

A Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Bestseller

"A clever and triumphant tale by the Grants showcasing how even discarded ideas can build a foundation for great things. Kids will love examining the mixed media and digital collage creations of Liddiard." —School Library Journal

"The narrative is written in present tense—a clever choice to underscore the immediacy of Leif’s anxiety . . . A polished, clever take on the falling-leaf narrative." —Kirkus

"Liddiard's mixed-media illustrations, in appropriately autumnal hues, depict the expressive, anthropomorphized leaf characters, along with other creatures, such as inchworms and ladybugs . . . this highlights the rewards of supportive friendship and the worthy notion that even failures may have value." —Booklist

Lackluster story with a good message

I really love children’s books and wanted to love this one as well. I’m a licensed professional counselor by trade so I read a lot of different stories with different messages to help kids (and adults!) label and process emotions. While I love the message behind this story, I felt there were details missing that would have truly brought the story home. For example, Leif is nervous about falling due to the upcoming winter, but the story doesn’t actually use very many feeling words (scared, sad, anxious) to help describe what he is experiencing and why. It also doesn’t describe what he felt at the end when the resolve happens. The book does a good job of saying what actions he takes and some of what he thinks, but I wouldn’t liked the emotions to have been fleshed out more. Also, his relationship with another leaf, Laurel, just kind of appears out of nowhere and there aren’t many context clues to help the listener know what to do with this character. It’s not clear to what degree they are friends, or more, and it’s not clear what brought them together or what if any is their shared purpose. While Laurel ultimately benefits from Leif’s ventures,it does beg the question if she was so supportive and interested in his ideas why didn’t she get a bigger role in adding her own voice and ideas and fears and hopes in the journey? Is it a small nod to the patriarchy where female characters are only good for being caring and supportive but not given roles that show their ambition and intelligence? That’s me overthinking it… but it just seems like the small changes of adding emotional depth to the characters by using more feeling words and motivations, and balancing out the character development through context clues and giving the female character more of a voice could’ve elevated this story into something a bit more enjoyable and complete. In its current form it feels a little loose and ends without much closure. I’d say listen to The Rabbit Listens, or any of Peter Reynolds stuff instead.