The Story Blanket

Because I have been a customer at The Storybook Shoppe for a few years now, Miss Nancy has really gotten to know which books our family loves. It's not just me that she does this with.  She knows hundreds of local children and their parents and always provides personal recommendations based on their interests. It's one of the things I love most about this charming shop. 

The Story Blanket by Ferida Wolff, illustrations by Harriet May Savitz, is right up my alley (and therefore my son and daughters!) I tend to gravitate towards books about peace and harmony, the world being interconnected, sharing and love. I just like to read stories that teach these messages.  The Story Blanket is about Babba, a woman who reads to children on a beautiful story blanket each week.  One day she discovers a few of the children need socks, but she has no yarn.  As she unravels the story blanket to make nice warm socks for children in need, a scarf for the mailman, a shawl for the grocer, the blanket gets smaller and smaller. When the village people learn all that Babba has done for them, they return the favor. The blanket becomes big again with the help of a village. 

We enjoyed the whimsical illustrations in this picture book, too. Not overly realistic but simplistic and colorful -- just perfect for children. 

My four-year-old daughter, Molly, understood this story implicitly and I marveled at how she picked up on it so easily. We spent a few minutes after the story was finished talking about nice things to do for other people, what a "random act of kindness" is and how we could make the world a nicer place.  Really, we did! And I love that a book can genuinely spark that conversation. 

You can buy this book right here on the blog, for 10% OFF.  Pay with PayPal and we will ship it to door! It makes a great gift and we appreciate you supporting our local bookstore.  You can also shop online for dozens of other selections in our new online store: http://www.thestorybookshoppe.com/online. 

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Regular price: $15.95

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A Circle of Friends

We are so lucky that Miss Nancy at The Storybook Shoppe recommended some fabulous new books for our family to enjoy.  My daughter Molly and I came home with a large stack and we sat down last night to dive in.  A Circle of Friends, by Giora Carmi, was among our stack.  Not knowing anything about the book, I opened up the cover and read the dedication. It reads:

"This book is dedicated to all the children in the world, to all the muffins, homeless people, birds, seeds, rain and flowers in the world."

Hmmmm.... I thought.  This is going to be weird.  Molly looked at me and asked -- "what's homeless?" Why muffins? Birds and seeds? 

The beautifully drawn book contains no words.  The viewer has to completely imagine the story based on the pictures.  I let Molly do all the work here.   As she turned the pages, she accurately dictated a story to me about a young child who gives a sleeping [homeless man on a bench] a muffin.  Who feeds the crumbs of the muffin to the birds, who plant a seed in a flower box, which grows into a beautiful flower outside the same boy's apartment.

Here's a story that teaches empathy and illustrates that a simple small act can set off a chain of events. One small act of good will can affect a community and your environment, and that good deed may even come back to you as a reward.

One day I will tackle the subject of homelessness with my children. But for now, I am pleased to see that her imagination and ability to tell stories is very powerful, and happier to see that she understands little acts can have a big impact.

What a tremendous book!  If you like the message and want it for your home, you can buy it right here on our blog.  Just check out using PayPal below and save 10% OFF.  

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Regularly $6.99

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