The Sad Cantilever

The cantilever in this book did not plan to be sad. It planned to extend outward from its support in a confident, purposeful way, as cantilevers do, and to hold whatever was placed upon it with structural dignity. This is, in fact, what it does. The sadness is not about failure. The sadness is about extension itself — about reaching out over nothing, supported only at one end, and staying there.

Petra Hallway wrote this book after a structural engineer told her that a cantilever is always in tension on one side and compression on the other. She asked if that was uncomfortable. The engineer said it was not a question that applied. She wrote the book anyway.

The illustrations show the cantilever across four seasons. In spring it casts a short shadow. In summer a bird lands on it. In autumn the bird leaves. In winter the cantilever is there. The cantilever is always there. That is the point.

Children who have read this book have, according to their parents, developed a habit of looking at the underside of things. Harold considers this an acceptable outcome.