Also available Paperback & Audio CD narrated by Oliver Wyman

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Illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church

When Pip and Blossom discover the leaves are falling off their beloved tree, they can't believe their eyes.
The tree is in TROUBLE!
Luckily, Mum can explain and Pip and Blossom learn what happens when autumn comes.

"Deliciously descriptive and wonderfully worded with sensational sounds."

Bianca Schulze, THE CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW

Emmett has written this in a voice that should be read aloud. His prose has depth, humor and a nice cadence ... A great combination of author and illustrator, this autumnal title will have you falling for it immediately.

Tasha Saecker, KIDS LIT

Read these and other reviews

Chicken House

UK Hardcover • ISBN-10: 1904442994 • ISBN-13: 978-1904442998

UK Paperback• ISBN-10: 1906427232 • ISBN-13: 978-1906427238

US Hardcover• ISBN-10: 0545160707 • ISBN-13: 978-0545160704

US Paperback• ISBN-10: 1906427232 • ISBN-13: 978-1906427238

US Paperback & CD • ASIN: B002NC315

Click here for details of foreign language editions.

Illustrations © 2009 Caroline Jayne Church. Reproduced by permission of Chicken House.

Leaf Trouble started life as a fourth Mole and Friends story called A Pawful of Sunset, but although I was very pleased with it, Mole’s publishers didn’t think it suited the series, so The Best Gift of All became the fourth book instead.

However I was reluctant to discard what I felt was a good plot, so I set about adapting it for a different cast of characters. This is not the first time I’ve done this and What Friends Do Best also started life as a Mole story.

Adapting a story like this is not simply a case of changing the names of the characters. If the original story was for an established series, it will have been written to fit the established characters. When I’m adapting the story, I try to start afresh and make the characters fit the story, rather than the other way around. In this case, I decided the story would work better with a smaller cast of characters, one of whom should be older and more experienced than the others. I picked a family of squirrels as they could be living in the tree, which would give them an obvious attachment to it.

The new version of the story was picked up by Elinor Bagenal at Chicken House. Elinor was the first editor I ever worked with, on a pop-up book called Scraposaurus Wrecks. Although that book was never published, the experience gave me the confidence to continue working on children’s books and this was in no small part due to Elinor’s encouragement, so it was a pleasure to be working with her again.

Elinor proposed Caroline Jayne Church to illustrate the book. Caroline had previously illustrated my pop-up books A Mouse inside the Marmalade and A Turtle in the Toilet. She uses a mix of paper collage and paint to create her illustrations and for this book she decided to add an extra dimension by modelling the illustrations in 3D. Leaf Trouble is not an easy story to illustrate; it’s set in a single location, with a cast of almost identical characters whose colouring matches their autumnal setting, so I think Caroline has done a terrific job!

	This book is for Ferdinand

Leaf Trouble is deliciously descriptive and wonderfully worded with sensational sounds. It offers up a simple explanation of why the leaves fall and when they will come back. When Pip the squirrel awakens one morning to discover that the leaves on the tree are no longer green and are steadily falling to the ground, he and his sister decide they will try to put all of the leaves back on the tree. The richly-colored collage illustrations, which were created dimensionally using inks and an array of patterns and textures, offer a delightfully warm tone to this charming story that will leave readers glowing inside. A beautiful story!

Bianca Schulze, THE CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW

One morning, when he smells the fresh breeze blowing around his tree, Pip Squirrel realizes that “something’s changed.” For the first time Pip sees that the leaves on his oak tree are no longer green. They are yellow, orange and red. The sight surprises the little squirrel so much that he literally falls down to the ground. He becomes quite distressed when he sees that the leaves are not only changing color, but they are falling off the tree. Frantically Pip and his sister Blossom collect up the fallen leaves and they try to stick them back on the tree. Alas, this does not work and Pip and Blossom are a loss. What can they do to save their beloved tree.
Through the eyes of a charming little squirrel, Jonathan Emmett shows young children that change can be a good thing. Wonderful things happen as the seasons unfold, and we can both look forward to what is happening now, and we can look forward to what is to come.
Jonathan Emmett’s story is beautifully complimented by Caroline Jayne Church’s warm multimedia illustrations, which have a unique three-dimensional component.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW

Pip, the squirrel, lives in an oak tree and knows that tree very well. But something has been happening so slowly that he never noticed: the leaves have changed color and are starting to fall off! Pip runs around and tries to catch all of the leaves, he and his sister gather them into a big pile, and then they try to reattach some. That doesn’t work, of course, but his mother appears then and explains about the tree needing to rest over the winter. She then explains that the leaves are like the setting sun each evening, disappearing but returning in the morning. The book ends with the young squirrels comparing the reds and yellows of the leaves with the colors of the sunset.
I have read many picture books over the years about children and animals panicking when leaves start to fall from the trees. But this one deserves a spot on your library shelves because of the intelligent tie-in with the setting sun. Children will immediately understand the connection to something they experience each and every day.
Emmett has written this in a voice that should be read aloud. His prose has depth, humor and a nice cadence. The first paragraph of the book is inviting, clever, and sets the tone nicely for the rest to come. Church’s illustrations are perfect for the seasonal tone of the book. Done with paper art, they are filled with tumbling bright-colored leaves that have a dimension and shadow to them. They will work well with a large group of children because of their size and color.
A great combination of author and illustrator, this autumnal title will have you falling for it immediately. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Tasha Saecker, KIDS LIT

A fresh breeze blows through the woodland, and Pip Squirrel watches autumn arrive. Pip loves every inch of the oak tree where he dwells, from the twigs to the trunk. But what is happening to the tree? Why are the leaves changing colors and falling off? In his determination to solve this mystery, Pip carefully watches the tree and observes the green leaves transforming into a sea of yellow, orange, and red. What will happen to the tree if all the leaves fall off? Pip and his sister, Blossom, collect the leaves in a pile and place them back on the branches. But with each gust of wind, the leaves blow off again. Mom tells her children the tree has to lose its leaves. When spring comes, the tree will be filled with beautiful green leaves again. Pip, Blossom, and Mom play under the oak tree until sunset. Finally Pip realizes why the leaves are so beautiful; they are the color of the sunset.

In Leaf Trouble, children can experience autumn from a young squirrel's point of view. The beautiful illustrations will enchant young and old readers alike.

Suzanna E. Henshon, CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

If your young readers like watching the squirrels gathering acorns, then they will enjoy Pip Squirrel's story in Leaf Trouble. Pip is astonished to discover that the leaves in his oak tree are changing colors. Green had colored his treetop home, but his first fall is full of yellows, reds and oranges. He worries that his tree is falling apart as leaves start to blow off branches.
Amazing art by illustrator Caroline Jayne Church increases the appeal of this fall selection.

Monica and Kilby Young, WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL

Does your child wonder why leaves fall at this time of year? So does a young squirrel named Pip in this tale. As the leaves change color and drop, Pip and his sister struggle to put the leaves back on the trees. Pip’s mother explains the changing of the seasons and puts Pip at ease.
The beautiful leaves set the perfect seasonal tone and the text is clear and inviting to readers. Emmett’s presents the changing of seasons in a way young readers can understand and makes this an excellent choice to share with your curious child.

Andrea Dochney, THE OAKLAND JOURNAL

Every year we watch the leaves change from greens to vivid hues of orange, red and yellows. While enjoying this yearly panorama get out LEAF TROUBLE and introduce the very young readers to Pip Squirrel. One early fall day Pip falls from his oak tree home. While on the ground a leaf falls. Poor Pip is certain his beloved home tree is falling apart. He must return the leaf immediately. As the leaves fall Pip is determined to affix them back to the branches. He enlists his sister, Blossom, to assist him. The job is made even more difficult when a strong wind gust shakes the tree causing hundreds of leaves to come free. Pip tells his mother about the tree dying and she explains what is happening. She tells Pip and Blossom to be happy for the tree and for themselves.
The artwork here is brilliant. The vivid colors ultimately remind Pip , “They’re the colors of the sunset!” A genuinely charming and informative book for the younger readers to explain, in their language, this wonderful miracle of nature.

Frank Hodge, HODGE-PODGE BOOKS