BRANCH, a Resurrection Story, + an interview with creator Rebecca Janni + a 2-BOOK GIVEAWAY!

My first look at Becky Janni’s BRANCH, A Resurrection Story (Eerdmans) gave me goosebumps (that cover!). And when I began clicking through the PDF, I kept having to lean in closer. All those details! All those colors and intricate illos! I couldn’t help thinking that this was the most beautiful picture book I’d ever seen. Typing that gave me pause, of course, because there are plenty of gorgeous picture books out there. So I’ll take a step back and declare this one of my top three (not that I can think of titles that compare at this moment).

The lyrical, poetic text is Bible-based, its theme springing from Isaiah 11:1: A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. (NIV)

Becky’s lovely, lyrical text demonstrates how we’re all branches of that tree; one big, broken family, saved by Jesus Christ. She’ll tell you how this story came to be in the interview below.

And then there’s the art, so stunning that my daughter, who walked behind me as I started scrolling through the PDF on my desktop computer, literally stopped in her tracks … before pulling out her phone to pre-order.

Feast your eyes on the opening spread:

Backmatter includes notes from both author and illustrator Michelle Carlos, as well as a “map” directing readers to Bible passages that further understanding of the book’s text and give them a brief introduction to the Bible.

Rather than wax on, I’d rather get right to my chat with my long-time writing friend Becky. I can’t even tell you all the ways she and her family have awed and amazed me over the years, not by gathering accolades and awards, but in how they live out their faith in quiet, loving ways. Walking the walk. You won’t find anybody kinder, gentler, or less interested in tooting her own horn, so I’m honored to be able to do that here.

Jill: Becky, WELCOME to Picture Book Builders! What compelled you to write this poem?

Becky: Thank you, Jill! Branch began as a homework assignment. For as long as I can remember, I’ve volunteered to write for various church ministries – everything from curricula for all ages to VBS skits, from talks to poetry. My pastor asked one day if I had ever considered writing a children’s book about my Christian faith. Always. For as long as I can remember, my most profound moments of prayer and worship have happened with a blank sheet of paper and a pen. Whether I am journaling, writing for ministry, or writing a piece of fiction that appears to have nothing to do with my Christian faith, writing has fed my faith and faith has fed my writing.

Later that same year, our church’s creative director asked me to work on a poem for Easter services around the theme, “Tree of Life.” I had just begun an opening stanza when the team decided on a new theme. I set aside what I had been working on to focus on the new theme and nearly forgot about those lines, those seeds that eventually grew into Branch. 

The next fall, in a Jen Wilkin Bible study on the book of Genesis, a writing prompt asked to summarize Genesis chapter 2 using “the voice of a storyteller speaking to a child.” I remembered and went searching for the poem I had started, revising it to answer the prompt. My mom passed away in 2019, but one of her dear friends was sitting beside me at the table that day. When I shared what I had written, she gave me a hug and said, “Rebecca, write THAT story.” 

Jill: Excellent advice, as it turns out! Tell us what prompted the tree metaphor.

Becky: Once I started writing it, I couldn’t let it go. I kept thinking about trees in the bible—the Tree of Life, in Creation and Revelation; the Cross of Christ, made of a tree, often called a tree; the expansive, all-encompassing family tree in the genealogies of the Old and New Testaments; the metaphor of Jesus as a vine giving life to his followers, the branches. I realized that trees themselves tell the stories at the heart of Christian faith.

I began to wonder if this manuscript could become a children’s picture book, a gentle way to tell the Easter story through the wonderfully accessible metaphor of a tree. I have always wrestled with how to share this crux of Christian faith with young children. Who can fathom such violence or such redemption and hope? If children have known any death of human or pet, they have only known the physical, permanent, gutting loss. How do we begin to plant the seed of faith that believes in the promise of resurrection? I think we must look to the seeds. And the trees. Buried in earth or snow for a season, they break through the ground that hides them from sight to bud and bloom and grow.

Every family has stories of trees, and ours is no different. My grandmother grew up in Kansas during the Dust Bowl, and I have letters where she writes, “I didn’t need much entertainment when the whole earth and sky were mine.” She describes “one special tree with a low-lying trunk and very large, exposed roots where she would climb, careful not to fall into the water!” 

My dad loved trees. He loved to work with wood — he was a carpenter by trade — but he loved the source of wood more, so he planted many trees and gardens. As a little girl, I watched him carry his shovel and tiny saplings, often smaller than I, and place them lovingly in the earth, pat the soil around them and water them as if they were his pets. Tall grasses covered our back acre, and as the tiny saplings grew, eventually they shaded the rest of our land — apple trees, maples, oaks, and ash, flowering pears, and lilac bushes. (I loved the lilacs and used to part the flowering branches to breathe in the scent, mindful of bees, of course.) It was my dad’s great joy to live to see his grandchildren clambering up those trees, no longer saplings, but strong and tall, even through fierce Iowa thunderstorms.

My parents and grandparents have all passed away, but not before planting a seed of faith in me that I believe has grown into this story. My 101-year-old grandmother lived longest and shared both her faith and her stories of trees with me up until her very last day. Before she died, I was able to share this story with her and tell her this book would be dedicated to her.

Another spread:

Jill: Beautiful. Could you tell us a bit about your process? Was the text a slow unfolding, or did it come to you all at once?

Becky: It was a VERY slow unfolding! When my mom’s friend told me to, “write THAT story,” her invitation sent me on a quest. I took the next year to read the Bible again, from Genesis to Revelation, cross-referencing multiple translations, highlighting every mention of trees, branches, vines, soil, and seeds, consulting commentaries and Hebrew and Greek language dictionaries, and studying the genealogy of Jesus. 

I hesitate to start mentioning other books I read that year, because I know I’ll overlook some. I looked for comp titles, read Ann Voskamp’s family advent devotional, Unwrapping the Greatest Gift, which includes instructions for making a “Jesse Tree, a way to come to the Christmas tree through the family tree of Christ.” I reread family favorites, the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones and the traditional folktale, The Tale of Three Trees by Gretchen Steinmen. I read creation stories like When God Made the World by Matthew Paul Turner and origin stories like Marion Dane Bauer’s The Stuff of Stars. I thought about Tolkien’s Ents and Lewis’ Aslan. I listened to a Bible Project podcast series titled “Tree of Life,” which referenced two other books that I then read, Reforesting Faith by Matthew Sleeth and Between Two Trees by Shane J. Wood. I read The Overstory by Richard Powers. Fascinated by the connection between trees and the air we breathe, I also read James Nestor’s Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. As I read and researched, I prayed. 

When I believed I was done, I still paused before sending the manuscript to my agent Jamie. In the Jen Wilkin Genesis study, I had learned about the Hebrew word “ruach” meaning spirit, breath, or wind – the life God breathes into creation. I told my husband that I didn’t think the manuscript was ready yet; I thought it was missing the “ruach.” But he insisted I had sat with it long enough and it was time to send it in. One thing I love about Jamie is her willingness to give editorial feedback that strengthens every story. She often gives me quite a bit of feedback for a first manuscript, but for Branch, she had one single suggestion: 

“I have one question and possible suggestion, that occurred to me after a few readings and some mulling. I think your ending beautifully echoes the beginning, and I wonder about emphasizing the connection even more, by incorporating “breath” into the opening. Maybe something like, “At the beginning of all things, a breath. God spoke a Word.” And also possibly slowing down the pacing of your last line, either with commas, or by breaking it into three lines, like: “…light, and life, and breath” or “…light/ and life/and breath.”

Her suggestion was the “ruach” that had been missing.

Jill: So very perceptive of her. Love the way the BEST editors or agents can push us just a bit further. Let’s talk art. I can’t even imagine how you felt when you got a look at Michelle’s artwork. That and the text work together so seamlessly! It almost feels like you wrote the poem with her art in mind. We all know it seldom works that way, but … to say that the final product is stunning is a vast understatement.

Becky: Michelle’s breathtaking art. I remember when the first drafts landed in my inbox. My oldest daughter was home for Thanksgiving break. I sat down to check email, not expecting anything out of the ordinary. I opened the attachment and was so moved that I started to cry. My daughter – not typically a crier – saw me in tears, said, “oh no,” and came over to see what was wrong. She put her hands on my shoulders, saw Michelle’s art and started weeping too. My husband saw us both and hurried over to see what had happened. He was moved to tears, too. We were a sight. I had seen Michelle’s portfolio and knew I would love her art, but wow, I was blown away. We all were.

Every time I page through the book, I see a new detail rich with meaning and depth, and I have loved reading Michelle’s illustrator notes and visiting her website to learn more about her process. I would love to meet her in person someday. 

As a mother of two deaf children, I was moved to discover the sweet detail of a hearing aid on one of the children climbing tree branches on the two-page spread featuring the Fruit of the Spirit.  

Of our five children, only our youngest daughter is still at home, a sophomore in high school. Born deaf, she had very little access to formal language for her first nine years where she lived as the only deaf child in an orphanage in China. As a gifted artist, her first language was art, and she loves to study the work of other artists. 

I was looking at a reel Michelle posted, showing a time lapse of her work on Branch’s stunning cover. My daughter walked into my office while the reel was playing and stopped in her tracks. She picked up my phone and watched the video 3 times fully, closely. When she watches an artist at work, the process means even more to her than it does to me, because she brings artistic knowledge and understanding that I don’t have. She was riveted.  

Jill: Readers, here’s the link to Michelle’s reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq9tvpcXVt4

Back to Becky: Then, she picked up Branch and paged slowly through this book she has seen for months now on screen and several weeks in hardcover. I already know she loves the illustrations. She went page by page through the entire book, taking in every lavish work of art. Slowly. I watched her as she pored over the pictures. 

In this industry we talk about the importance of mirrors and windows, where young readers can see themselves and others. 

My daughter closed the book, put it down, turned to me, and signed: that kid has a green hearing aid. 

Jill: Okay, now I’m getting choked up (Hello, E!). READERS, if you’d like to WIN a copy of this book, simply leave a comment below. I’ll draw two names at random on Friday, September 25th, and contact you if you’ve won (assuming I can find your contact info!).

Becky, THANKS again for allowing me to showcase this beautiful, heartfelt book. It feels so very you.

Readers, you can learn more about Becky and her book at her website: https://www.rebeccajanni.com

And check out illustrator Michelle Carlos’s website, too: https://www.michellecarlos.com/about-me