In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Beth Rooney and Kathleen Rooney’s book, Leaf Town Forever, is a magical ode to the power of children and their imagination.
James Kennedy wrote of the book:
“Sometimes all you need are nature and imagination. This poetic tale about kids working together to improvise a town out of leaves, twigs, and discovered treasures will ring true to anyone who’s spent quality time on a playground. Kathleen and Beth Rooney tell the story of the rise and fall (and rise again!) of Leaf Town in nimble and evocative haiku, and Betsy Bowen’s gentle, expressive illustrations are an autumnal delight. A tribute to the resourcefulness of children and the quiet pleasures of paying attention to nature, this book is perfect for those who know the best fun is to be had with friends in the woods―or for those who need reminding.”
In her own words, here is Anna North’s Book Notes music playlist for their children’s book Leaf Town Forever:
Although I (Kathleen) have written poetry collections, essay collections, scholarly studies, novels, and hybrid projects of many sorts, the visual and verbal interplay of picture books was something I had not yet tried. So when a literary agent approached my sister Beth and me about adapting this essay we co-wrote for the New York Times into a picture book, we jumped at the chance.
I (Beth) am a photographer with experience writing articles and telling visual stories, Leaf Town Forever is my first book. This seemed like a natural extension of my work: establishing the narrative through decisive moments and strong verbs, leaving plenty of room for the images to do some heavy lifting.
Based on the true story of a town created out of leaves by a bunch of kids who then have to figure out how to maintain what they’ve built, Leaf Town Forever captures the fun you have getting swept away by your imagination with your friends, the glory of the seasons, and the dreamy feeling of being in harmony with nature. To keep it short and to emphasize the cyclical, seasonal themes, we wrote the story in haiku, a deceptively simple challenge, which left plenty of room for the illustrations by the brilliant Betsy Bowen. These are a few songs we think evoke the timelessness of made-up places and the joy of being part of an outdoor adventure.
“Moonlight in Vermont” composed by John Blackburn with lyrics by Karl Sussendorf, 1944; performed by Ella Fitzgerald
There are countless versions of this song, including a great one featuring Stan Getz on tenor sax, and another with Chet Baker on trumpet, but we’re including the one with vocals by Ella Fitzgerald because to really appreciate this song, you need to hear the lyrics:
Pennies in a stream,
Falling leaves, a sycamore,
Moonlight in Vermont
Each verse (although not the bridge) is a haiku. Like Leaf Town Forever!
“Take Me With U” by Prince and the Revolution, 1984
Last October, we took a road trip up from Chicago, Illinois to Grand Marais, Minnesota—super-close to the Canadian border on the shores of Lake Superior—to visit Betsy and her farmhouse and studio because we obviously really wanted to meet our illustrator in person. Having someone so talented interpret our words visually is one of the coolest things that has ever happened to us, and getting to meet her was magical. We made a playlist for our 9-hour drive and because Prince is one of Minnesota’s greatest geniuses, his work featured prominently. We’re including this song here because it’s so happy and bouncy and because the lyric “Take Me With U” suggests traveling and collaboration.
“Autumn Leaves” composed by Joseph Kosma with French lyrics by Jacques Prévert and English ones by Johnny Mercer, 1945; performed by Edith Piaf
The inclusion of this jazz standard is pretty self-explanatory—it’s one of the best songs about leaves ever written. According to Wikipedia, “more than a thousand commercial recordings are known to have been released by mainstream jazz and pop musicians,” which speaks to the appeal of not just the song, but of leaves as a symbol for the passage of time and human longing. We’re going with the Edith Piaf version from 1951—half in English, half in French—because her voice trembles with just the right amount of melancholy.
In the song, the speaker yearns for her lost love and reflects on their past: “But I miss you most of all / My darling, when autumn leaves start to fall.” In the book, Lucinda dreams more hopefully of what might be possible with the leaves she sees outside her classroom window:
Lucinda watches
golden leaves fall gently down.
Could they make a town?
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, 1985
Leaf Town is mostly peaceful until some kids from down the street decide they want to be in charge. The chorus of this song—“Help me make the / Most of freedom and of pleasure /Nothing ever lasts forever / Everybody wants to rule the world”—playfully brings attention to certain elements of humankind’s tendency toward domination. The children of Leaf Town counter this desire with community and create a town where no one rules and they all get freedom and fun.
“Nice Town” by Metronomy and Pan Amsterdam, 2024
“Speak me into existence…”
“Since you’re so anti-community / You’ll buy into my community…”
This song is perfect because the girls speak Leaf Town into existence and end up befriending the kids who, at first, seem so anti-community. The beat is joyful and simple, like Leaf Town Forever. An instant classic.
“Footprints in the Snow” composed by Claude Debussy, 1909; performed by Isao Tomita, 1974
Leaf Town Forever begins with the start of the school year in Fall, but cycles through Winter, Spring, and Summer as well. This is the last track on the album Snowflakes Are Dancing, a collection of Tomita’s weird and gorgeous arrangements of the French composer Claude Debussy’s “tone paintings,” which he performs on a Moog synthesizer and a Mellotron. Just as Debussy—and Tomita—emphasize the moods and colors that music can conjure, Leaf Town Forever explores the emotional associations of the seasons that feel especially powerful and poignant in childhood.
“The Circle Game” by Joni Mitchell, 1966
We can’t even read the lyrics without getting tears in our eyes. And the experience of looking back on my (Beth here!) children’s lives often brings tears, too. The loss expressed in the refrain, “We can’t return, we can only look behind/ From where we came” is countered by the line, “There’ll be new dreams / maybe better dreams and plenty.”
The children of Leaf Town eventually move on with a mixture of joy and sadness as they go:
Before they leave for
Fresh adventures, Lucinda,
Rose and Fiona
Hang a pale blue sign
Where the birch leaves still shiver:
Leaf Town Forever
“We’re Going to Be Friends” by the White Stripes, 2002
Without friends, there would be no Leaf Town—the school kid friends who made the real one in the first place, and the friendship between the two of us as sisters, as well as the friendships we’ve come to have with Betsy and UMP.
“We don’t notice any time pass / we don’t notice anything” is a lovely lyric that captures the absorption and presence of childhood—the way you get so involved in being with your friends you forget everything else. But in the end, Leaf Town Forever is also about how time does pass, and leaving a legacy for the next generation of kid friends.
also at Largehearted Boy:
Kathleen Rooney’s playlist for her novel From Dust to Stardust
Kathleen Rooney’s playlist for her poetry collection Where Are the Snows
Kathleen Rooney’s playlist for her novel Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey
Kathleen Rooney’s playlist for her novel Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
Kathleen Rooney’s playlist for her book René Magritte: Selected Writings
Kathleen Rooney’s playlist for her novel O, Democracy!
Kathleen Rooney’s playlist for her novel Robinson Alone
Kathleen Rooney’s playlist for her essay collection For You, For You I Am Trilling These Songs
Kathleen Rooney’s playlist for her memoir Live Nude Girl
Kathleen Rooney’s playlist for her poetry collection Oneiromance
Kathleen Rooney is a founding editor of Rose Metal Press, a nonprofit publisher of literary work in hybrid genres, and a founding member of Poems While You Wait. She is author of five novels, including Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk and Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey, as well as the poetry collection Where Are the Snows. She lives in Chicago and teaches at DePaul University.
Beth Rooney is a visual journalist based in Oak Park, Illinois. A writer and photographer, she is drawn to stories that explore our place in the world and show how individual circumstances reflect larger truths.