Northern Quill Publishing has just released a brand new children’s book from accomplished Northern author, Erika Nyyssonen.

The book is called “The Last Tree,” and is illustrated by seasoned artist, Lucas Green. Nyyssonen and Green have worked together on other books in the past, and together, have each received the NWT Youth Book Award from NorthWords.

Nyyssonen explained that the idea for this book came when she was driving along an ice road with Green, when the illustrator wondered aloud what it would be like to be a tree at the edge of a treeline.

“And that really sparked a new idea of like, what WOULD it be like? And that developed into a play, and then later into the book. It’s a story about a lonely spruce tree at the edge of the tree line, and him realizing he’s the only one around. Throughout the story, he encounters a variety of Northern animals that come at various times and have experience or some kind of play time, or some connection with the tree, and then they have to leave and go back to their homes. All the animals then come together and make a promise to Spruce that they will be back at some point.”

Nyyssonen said that she’s written many stories and plays that were inspired by Northern animals, and how they interact with humans. She added that her father was always encouraging her family to think about what animals might have to say to us and what they might be doing when we can’t see them.

“It’s just a way to sort of bring animals voices to life and have them interact through stories.”

When asked about what the main message of her book is, Nyyssonen explained that her message is that when people make different connections with each other, those connections can sometimes come back to us to provide help in a critical moment, even if one feels they are alone in the world.

“Spruce, at the edge of the train line, he realizes that he’s sort of the only one out there, and he has a bit of sadness about that. And then over time, he has these interactions with the other creatures out there on the tundra, and he gets a lot of value and intrigue. So it makes him feel like he is part of something, even though it’s not always happening.”

Erika’s book was chosen for publication by Northern Quill among 24 other submissions, and is one of the first books that has been published under their name. Northern Quill Publishing is a female-owned and operated company that was born from a mutual love of seeing the North reflected in multiple forms of literature. Erika said that she felt incredibly honoured to be selected by Northern Quill, who were very supportive of her efforts.

Erika will be making an appearance at the official launch event for the book at the Northern Book Fair on November 8^th. She will also be at Yellowknife Books on November 15^th, and shared that there is interest to do a book tour around the Territory later in December.

The Last Tree is already available for purchase on Northern book shelves.

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