Bea Garcia: The Tree and Me

Chapter 1 INTRODUCING EMILY
This is Emily, right outside my classroom window. She’s so big that I can’t fit her on one page.
Yes, Emily is a tree! A giant tree! Look! There’s a bird sitting on one of her branches and two squirrels chasing each other around her giant trunk.
This is me, Bea Garcia. I draw pictures of EVERYTHING.
I drew all the pictures in the book you’re reading right now. Here’s Zippy, one of the squirrels who lives on Emily.
See the skinny tail? That’s how I can tell it’s him.
Here I am on top of Emily!
I WISH! I’m not really sitting high in Emily’s branches, but wouldn’t it be fun if I was? Sometimes I draw what I really see. Sometimes I draw what I wish I could see. Do you see Zippy waving at you?
Imagine what I would see if I really were high in Emily’s branches. The whole world.
Look! Way over there is Yvonne. She was my first best friend and lived right next door to me before she moved a million miles away to Australia.
Over here is my house. That’s my mom and dad in the front yard. My mom draws pictures of houses, too. She’s an architect.
In the backyard you can see my little brother, the Big Pest, throwing sticks for Sophie, the world’s smartest dog.
I really do climb that crabapple tree in my yard. It’s so tiny compared to Emily! The only thing I can see from its branches is Bert’s yard next door. But let’s not talk about him.
Here’s my school, Emily Dickinson Elementary.
See that window? That’s Mrs. Grogan’s class. That’s where I would be sitting if I wasn’t up here in the tree.
Ignore the monster waving at the window. That’s Bert.
Look down there on the playground! My whole class is pointing up at me!
Don’t fall!
Fall? I’m not going to fall.
I’m going to FLY!
Bea?
This is me, really. I’m sitting in the front row of Mrs. Grogan’s class. I’m not high in Emily’s branches. I’m not flying.
Me?
You.