CHILDREN'S LITERATURE,  Picbook Review

The Story Blanket: Heart-warming tale of generosity and love

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Written by by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz, The Story Blanket tells a story about a storyteller, Babba Zarrah, who lives in a tiny village in the snow-covered mountains.

Children love to visit her and settle down on her big, old story blanket and listen to her stories. One day Babba Zarrah notices that Nikolai needs new socks, but she has no yarn but after thinking hard while having tea, she knew what to do; she just has to unravels part of her story blanket and knits him some nice warm socks.

Soon after, the postman found a scarf wrapped around his mailbag. Then the schoolmaster was surprised to find a pair of mittens on the woodpile when he brought in wood for the school stove. Before long, the grocer mysteriously receives a shawl to keep her warm. Meanwhile, the children had to sit closer on the blanket when they came for a story. The blanket became tinier and then one day, there was no blanket left to sit on.

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The villagers discover Babba Zarrah’s secret and decide to give her a surprise: wools in so many colours. She knitted a new story blanket and the children sit happily and comfortably while listening to her telling stories.

But then she noticed a hole in a boy’s sweater. She smiled and knew what to do.

The Story Blanket is a beautiful book not only for children but also adults. We are never too old to learn the beauty of sharing and to respect the wisdom of our elders and that each member of a community is of equal value.

Illustrated by Elena Odriozola, The Story Blanket is one of the best illustrated picture books in which the story, illustrations, page layout, and design all come together to offer a great reading experience.

The Story Blanket
Hardcover – September 1, 2008
by Ferida Wolff (Author), Harriet May Savitz (Author), Elena Odriozola (Illustrator)
Age Range: 4 and up
32 pages
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (September 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1561454662

Photo credit: ELENA ODRIOZOLA

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