Title: If I Could Climb Trees

Author: Jeff Minich

Illustrator: Renan Garcia

Publisher/Year: Nuggies Inc./2017

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Coco the puppy is back and ready for fun in volume 5 of the Nuggies picture book series by author Jeff Minich and illustrator Renan Garcia. Coco dreams of climbing trees. She wants a birds-eye view of the world. She imagines the amazing things she might see, a vast ocean with a sandy beach or snow-capped mountain peaks. Coco wants to leap from branch to branch like the squirrels and lick sweet sap like the ants. When the sun goes down, she’ll stretch out on a sturdy limb as the lights of the city twinkle in the distance. And as she begins to fall asleep, she’ll wonder what the birds, and the bugs, and the squirrels dream about. Maybe they dream about doing the things that puppies do.

If I Could Climb Trees is a sweet and inspiring ode to dreams, not just the dreams we have while we’re asleep, but the dreams each one of us aspires to. Once upon a time, I had a dream to publish a book and see it on the shelves of libraries and bookstores. My dream came true with the publication of The Peddler’s Bed. My husband dreamed of earning a black belt in karate. He accomplished that goal and now actually has a fifth degree black belt. 

I believe that kids should be encouraged to follow their dreams. This colorfully illustrated book with its super cute animal characters is a great starting point for light discussions about their hopes for the future. If we encourage and support the aspirations of children, there’s no doubt that one day they will reach great heights…perhaps higher than a little puppy that climbed a tree.

To read a review of volume 2 in the Nuggies series, All The Other Nuggies, click HERE.

For more information about the Nuggies book series, click HERE.