The Big Leaf Leap

The girl wants a leaf pile to leap in. A big leaf pile, a huge leaf pile, an enormously enormous leaf pile! She rakes and rakes and rakes, but there are not enough leaves in her yard to make the leaf pile of her dreams. And she can’t do it alone. She will need some help. And so it begins: one neighbor kid here, a couple of neighbor kids there, others from down the street. They all have leaves to contribute as they build a pile together in a nearby vacant lot. Beautiful leaves from so many trees: maple, oak, ginkgo, aspen, birch, locust, sumac, catalpa. Beautiful children from so many families, all in pursuit of a single goal. The result is a dream come true. And now what? These kids know just what to do.