Story Rug by Sophie Blackall illustrated by Phoebe Wahl

This book is sure to create a craze in your library or classroom for braiding and for making braided rugs - even small ones. I really enjoyed the repeated refrain used in this story as Noah and his friends approach each problem:

"I want to braid. Noah knows Mrs Morena will have an idea. She always has an idea."

"But how to join the strips? Noah knows his Dad will have an idea. He always has an idea."

"It's too much braid to fit in Noah's backpack. But what to do with it? Everyone knows Noah will have an idea. He always has an idea."

There is one small plot jump in this story - I am sure your class will have ideas when you discuss this. The kids braid many different cloths. The braid is so long. Noah has a terrific idea and he tells everyone to meet him at the library which I assume is the local town or city public library. The kids coil the braiding and form a huge rug - a story rug. Turn the page and the next scene is back in the classroom. 

Do make time to linger over the end papers and notice the extra details in the classroom. This might seem obvious, but this book takes place over a few days and on each new day at school the kids are wearing different clothes. The way the kids also weave in their stories made me think about the stories people share over quilts. Here is a Pinterest of quilt books from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything.

Blurb from Illustrator webpage: The children of Class 203 are learning to braid. They started with hair and shoelaces, and now the children have brought rags from home. Their braid gets longer and longer until one idea transforms it into an extraordinary surprise for their teacher. Here is the story of a rag rug, woven through with the stories of the scraps used to create it and those told during its making. The result is a special handmade spot where the whole class can gather, ready for more stories.

Braids together the personal and the communal—and will hopefully inspire real classrooms to follow suit. Kirkus

You can hear Sophie Blackall talking about her book here to NPR with Phoebe Wahl.

You can see a video about braided rugs in this review by The Bottom Shelf (Barbara Braxton).

It is such a celebration of kids working together to create the most amazing thing, interweaving not just the fabrics but their own lives and their stories, sharing snippets of their diverse out-of-school time.

You will know Sophie Blackall from all her fabulous books - take a look at this post. The difference with Story Rug is that Sophie penned the text and did not do the illustrations - instead we have vibrant pictures by Phoebe Wahl. I previously talked about her book Sophie's Chickens.

Lost Evangeline by Kate Di Camillo illustrated by Sophie Blackall

"The shoemaker and his wife had no children, and they had long given up hoping for them. And so it seemed an entirely miraculous thing when one day, the cobbler sat down to work on repairing an old boot and found, hidden in its squared-off toe, 

an extremely small child."

No one comes back to claim the boots or the child. The shoemaker creates tiny clothes, shoes, furniture and a miniature ship's lantern and he names her Evangeline but his wife does not like the child. 

The small ship's lantern "was surely the shoemaker's finest creation. It was accurate in every detail, smaller than a thimble, and painted bright red. Within the lamp waws a wick of fabric that could be raised and lowered with a small knob, and the lamp, when it was lit, gave off a steady, gentle light."

Reader I need to take a small detour at this point and draw your attention to the word placement in this sentence - think about those words - steady and gentle. As with all good stories we know something is sure to happen - will this lamp help young Evangeline when she is faced with great danger? Of course you may have already anticipated this from the title.

Long ago the shoemaker dreamed of a life filled with adventure, of journeys to far away lands on ships that anchor in the harbor. Evangeline does not grow bigger, but she does become a wonderful daughter to the shoemaker and together they watch the ships and talk of future adventures, but the shoemaker knows there could be danger if Evangeline is discovered. He keeps her well-hidden and makes sure she knows how to hide if a customer enters his store - the door hinge is rusty and the sound alerts Evangeline that she must 'make herself disappear'. I actually gasped when the shoemaker's wife oiled the hinges:

"And so, without telling her husband, the shoemaker's wife oiled the hinges on the door ... She opened the door and closed it again and the hinges made no sound at all."

Meanwhile in a different part of the town an elderly rich widow has a dream about some fabulous shoes that will grant immortality. Oh no are you following along with this story - we have some dangerous ingredients here - jealousy, pride, greed, and the desire for immortality. Surely little Evangeline is heading towards a disaster.

The rich widow Mrs Penrith-Smith sends her servant to visit the cobbler BUT of course the door longer alerts Evangeline to hide and so she is seen by the aptly named Gristle. He takes the news of the tiny girl back to his mistress.

"I think I understand now ... the dream of the shoes was merely a vehicle. The dream served to bring you to the cobbler's so that you might see this wonder. The shoes are not the point. I will have her come here and sing to me, and then I will get better. Her song will cure me ... I will have her."

And so the adventures begin. Yes, Evangeline is stolen; she escapes; she persuades a huge ginger cat to help her; she is stolen again by a truly despicable man; and then she finds a friend and a way to fulfill the dream she shared with her father.  So many twists and turns and all in just 152 pages.

"The cat had seen the girl of course. That little morsel of humanity had led her to the sea, to this wondrous place she had not even known existed. And, too, the cat knew exactly what had become of Evangeline. She had witnessed her demise. ... The cat recognised the man for what he was: a predator. ... She had watched as he captured the girl, watched as a single tiny shoe went flying through the air and landed on a rock."

Before or perhaps after you read Lost Evangeline it would be good to revisit classic fairy tales - The Eves and the Shoemaker and also Thumbelina. You might also think of Pinocchio and Snow White. I read one Good Readers review that said "This (book) had all the whimsy and heartbreak of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale."

Author blurb: When a shoemaker discovers a tiny girl (as small as a mouse!) in his shop, he takes her in, names her Evangeline, and raises her as his own. The shoemaker’s wife, however, fears that Evangeline has bewitched her husband, so when an opportunity arises to rid herself of the girl, she takes it. Evangeline finds herself far from her adopted father and her home, a tiny girl lost in the wide world. But she is brave, and she is resourceful, and with the help of those she meets on her journey — including a disdainful and self-satisfied cat — she may just find her way again. Kate DiCamillo

This is the third Norendy Tale and it is the one I loved the best but be warned this tale does not quite have that all important or expected happy ending although I am sure all readers will be able to imagine one. Kirkus explain this:

In true DiCamillo fashion, the ending is suffused with the gentlest melancholy, allowing readers to either believe in their reunion or dismiss it entirely. ...  There are no easy answers in a Norendy tale, but there is great courage, even when it comes in the smallest of packages.

Readers who aren’t used to a story with an ambiguous ending may feel cheated by the lack of an on-page reunion, but upon reflection, they will likely see how it is exactly the right end for such a dreamy little novel that prioritizes the whimsical vibes of Norendy over answering every question raised within it. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

The feeling of a fairy tale is enhanced by the very atmospheric illustrations which show the spirals of song which weave their way through the story right to the end. Although there is no instant happy ending with father and daughter reunited once more, it is through the final illustration which the reader is left with a thread of hope that this might yet happen. Through the Bookshelf

Here is a link to a set of discussion questions from the publisher.

I do need to mention the rich vocabulary you will encounter in this book. Here are a few examples: misspoke, due haste, marooned, morsel, modicum of alacrity, vermin, scrutinized, treachery, intercede, consumed, dolt, somber, and penury.

Each of the Norendy Tales features a different, fabulous illustrator. This one is Sophie Blackall. Previously we had Julia Sarda and Julie Morstad. It would be so special to display all three of these on your family bookshelves.

The Puppets of Spelhorst

The Hotel Balzaar

Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown

Goodnight Songs are a set of previously unpublished lullabies by Margaret Wise Brown with illustrations by twelve different illustrators. I knew six of the names and six I needed to investigate.  You already know I do enjoy books like this that bring together the work of different illustrators. 

Jonathan Bean; Carin Berger; Sophie Blackall; Linda Bleck; Renata Liwska; Christopher Silas Neal; Zachariah O'Hora; Eric Puybaret; Sean Qualls; Isabel Roxas; Melissa Sweet; and Dan Yaccarino. The cover illustration is by Isabel Roxas. You can see more of her books here. My fabourite pages are the ones by Eric Puybaret (from France) and Sophie Blackall.

Melissa Sweet

Watch this video to see and hear some of the illustrators and learn more about how this book came to be discovered and published. 

Listen to a two-minute audio sample here of the first lullaby - The Noon Balloon. There are links here to all of the songs (but this site does have advertisements). You can see all the pages from Goodnight Songs here. 

As for the poetry, it feels wonderfully, authentically Margaret Wise Brown. Though full of fanciful ideas and imagery, Brown’s work never gets to be “too much” for kids to digest. Her specialty has always been simple words and phrases, rocking repetition, and a youthful perspective—a kid’s-eye view, so to speak. These new poems are no different and employ the familiar language and lilt of her classics. Barnes and Noble

"One can hope to make a child laugh or feel clear and happy-headed as he follows the simple rhythm to its logical end. It can jog him with the unexpected and comfort him with the familiar, lift him for a few minutes from his own problems of shoelaces that won't tie, and busy parents and mysterious clock time, into the world of a bug or a bear or a bee or a boy living in the timeless world of a story." Margaret Wise Brown

Goodnight Songs was published in 2014 so it is now sadly out of print but if you can find a copy and you have a music teacher in your school you should share this book which comes with a CD so you can hear and sing each of the twelve lullabies. 

Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall

 

This book is a lyrical love letter to the past and to an old house that saw children grow and change until the house itself grew too old to stay standing. While this broken old house could not be rescued by Sophie Blackall, I love that she was able to retrieve so many fragments from the history of the house and then painstakingly incorporate them into her delicate collage illustrations. 

Her voice is so authentic recounting the lives of the family with twelve children who lived long ago in this house. There is a beautiful sense of completion when we meet the final and youngest child, now an old lady, who takes her last look around the house before leaving it to nature and tempest. While it is sad, it is also good to see the raw and messy state of the house fifty years after the last family left. From the artist page illustration where we see Sophie Blackall with her materials there is a feeling that even though the house is now gone its spirit will live on. 

The author note at the back of the book is essential reading and heartbreaking with those words “a roaring excavator would come and extend its long neck and open its wide jaws, bite through the beams, push over the walls, crunch up the parlor organ … “. I love the way Sophie scattered seeds on the land after the house was gone. 

The design of Farmhouse is scrumptious – the embossed cover, the wrap around image on the dust jacket, the view of the inside of the house, a little like a dollhouse, found under the dust jacket, the front-end papers with all the patterns and textures and objects from the house, and the photos at the back of those twenty-one dresses looking like ghosts from the house and along with the old organ. I wish I had a button that was once a shell in the sea - that is the perfect refrain. 

This book is sure to delight readers of all ages. The story telling is rich and nostalgic. There is a very strong sense of time and place. The illustrations can be revisited over and over again and each time the discovery of new details will delight children and adults alike. I also love the pace of the illustrations. We move from pages with so much detail and then turn to a quieter page such as the barn milking scene and the apple tree. To my eye those pages and the one where we see the surrounding farmland feel like places where a reader can take a "visual" breath - these are quieter pages.  

The rhythm and meter of the narrative is perfect. It undulates and weaves in and out of the family's little life in a playful and surprising way, drawing the reader in to 'eavesdrop' on the life of the family before sending the reader out to explore details gently dropped into the tale such as the button that was once a shell. It made me reach for my own grandmother's button jar to see if I had a shell button like this. IF I had been able to read this book with a group of children my button (like this one below) would have been my starting point. 

Image Source Etsy

It has taken me a while to talk about this book because I had to wait until after the CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) announced their award winners for 2023 - this waiting is part of being a judge. Farmhouse was shortlisted for the picture book award. The judge's comments were partly written by me, so they do overlap with my comments here. 

Here are some review comments:

A lovely, tender reimagining of people in a long-past time and place. Kirkus Star review

Maybe that’s the thing about this book I like so much. Picture books about old houses or old cars or other old structures view natural decomposition as something to be fought and fixed. Farmhouse respectfully disagrees. The tragedy at work here is that the stories that took place in this house might not get told again. They might fade in the memories of the people who knew them. So rather than refurbish and restore the house, Sophie refurbishes and restores the family and their lives in book form. And maybe there will be a child that reads this book and begins to wonder about old photographs in their own homes. Maybe they’ll ask for stories about their own ancestors and, if they’re lucky, maybe they’ll hear some they never heard before. We can’t help but wonder about the people who came before us. Isn’t it nice when someone like Sophie Blackall is able to give them a little gift, in appreciation for coming before? A lovely, moving, thoughtful book, full of children, life and death, and the turning of the years. Fuse 8 Betsy Bird SLJ

I loved watching Sophie Blackall share her process and art creations for this book on Instagram. Here is one moment.  Sophie Blackall talks to the Horn Book magazine. IBBY President Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright has prepared some outstanding teachers notes. Here is another interview with Sophie by Parnassus Books in Nashville. 

There are hundreds of decisions to be made on every page of a picture book. In this book, in this family, there are twelve children, and they all have chores and I want it to be historically accurate, but I also want to give the characters depth and not lock them into gender roles.

The perfect comparison text is The Little House.

The Little House

I also suggest looking for these:

The Hidden House (and) House Held up by trees

A House that once was

Take Two by J Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Take Two: A Celebration of Twins

This is another of the books I picked up at a recent charity book sale. As far as I can tell this book, from 2012, is still available and here in Australia. The price seems to range from around $30 up to $50. Luckily my mint condition copy, which I suspect has never even been opened, was just $1. I am excited to gift this to the mum and dad of twin girls.

I previously mentioned this book when I was talking last month about the Sydney visit by Sophie Blackall.

To those of us who are not twins, identical twins are most intriguing. I always wonder if they really have their own language and if they ever pretend to be each other? And then there is just the mere fact, identical, fraternal or sororal, it is interesting to imagine what it must be like to have a womb mate who moves on to be someone closer to you, more genetically like you than anyone else in the world and, if you are lucky, your best friend. Books for your Kids

There are 44 poems in this book organised into four categories - Twins in the waiting Womb; Twinfants; How to be One; and Famous Twins. Here are a couple that caught my eye:

Mirror Twin

I wave, you wave.

I smile, you laugh.

I wink, you blink.

You leave - I'm half.

Double Trouble

We both talk with our mouths full,

An ucky way to speak.

We both forget our lunches

At least two times a week.

We both are slow to get up,

We're late to go to bed.

we always find a reason

To stay awake instead.

There isn't any argument

That both have never tried.

But we protect each other

From anyone outside.

J Patrick Lewis is the author of over 100 books and he is a twin! Jane Yolen has nearly written nearly 400 books and 47 of them are poetry books. I imagine they had fun with their collaboration over this book and how thrilling to have Sophie Blackall as the illustrator. 

Some of these are out of print but here are some other poetry books by Jane Yolen I would like to see:

Meet the illustrator Sophie Blackall

Today my friends and I went along to the wonderful Gleebooks in Sydney to hear and meet the equally wonderful Sophie Blackall who has been visiting Australia over the last month. This shop event was her only official Sydney children's book event and I was super excited. Sophie is the illustrator of over fifty books. Here is her web site. Sophie Blackall was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Sophie talked so eloquently about her newest book Farmhouse. I am desperate to talk about it too but you will have to wait to hear from me because this book has been entered in our CBCA Book of the Year awards and as a judge I am not allowed to share this book here just yet but be patient - my comments will appear eventually.

In the meantime here are other books by Sophie Blackall - many of which I explored here on this blog:

What a discovery - Sophie did the cover for the book from 2004

Clair de Lune. I wonder if she perhaps went to uni with Cassandra Golds?

There are two books in this funny series - they are out of print 

but are sure to be in a well stocked library. Read more here.

The Beatryce Prophecy If there had been time I would love to have talked to Sophie about this wonderful book and her excitement when she was asked to create the illustrations. 

I saw somewhere how, when this book arrived in a parcel, she just sat down 

and read it all in one sitting and did not head out for an appointment. 

Sophie is, like me, another huge Kate DiCamillo fan.

A Giraffe for France

Ruby's Wish winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award in 2003

Hello Lighthouse - Sophie told us today the inspiration was a lighthouse 

on an island off the coast of Newfoundland. This book won the 2019 Caldecott Medal.

If you come to Earth

Pecan Pie Baby

Things to Look Forward to

The queue for book signing stretched right across the shop so there really was no time for questions but here are some I wish I had asked:

• Can you describe your feelings when you were asked to illustrate books written by Kate DiCamillo, Jane Yolen and Jacqueline Woodson?
• Do you still feel Australian even though you have lived in the US for many years?
• Can you talk about the dust jacket for your book Farmhouse and the surprise that is hiding underneath?
• Has winning the Caldecott Medal twice influenced or changed the way you approach your writing or illustrating?
• Do you wish more Australian children's picture books were available in US stores and schools? How do you think we can improve this?
• I also wanted to ask about Farmhouse and The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton (but of course I am not allowed to talk about Farmhouse).

You might like to watch Sophie's acceptance speech for her 2019 Caldecott medal (begin around the 10 minute mark). 

Take a look at the delicious poster Sophie designed for the New York Subway. 

Along with the twelve Ivy and Bean books by Annie Barrows you should also look for these:

Winner of the Caldecott Medal in 2016

Here are the books Sophie wrote and illustrated:

• Things to Look Forward To (2022)
• If You Come to Earth (2020) Best Children's Book of the Year for 2020 New York Times
• Hello Lighthouse (2018) Winner of the 2019 Caldecott Medal
• The Baby Tree (2014)
• Are You Awake? (2011)
• Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found (2011) an adult book

I have added this book to my enormous to read list. It contains art from so many wonderful illustrators such as Emily Winfield Martin, Melissa Sweet, LeUyen Pham, Oge Mora, Julie Morstad.

Sophie Blackall loves the work of Barbara Cooney:

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

"Once upon a time there was a Little House way out in the country. She was a pretty Little House and she was strong and well built."

There is so much to think about in these first sentences. I love the way the author personifies the house and also uses capital letters for her name. 

When I started my "job" judging for the Children's Book Council of Australia for our National book awards (2021-23) I asked a wise friend to suggest some classic books that I should read or reread. She and I mostly talked about middle grade novels and of course she expected I would have already read most of the famous Australian picture books. I think I need to expand my request to include international classics and award winners such as this book - The Little House. 

I can't talk about the new book by Sophie Blackall (The Farmhouse) yet but many US reviewers compare this new book with the 1942 classic The Little House which I read for the first time yesterday. I had no idea that The Little House would utterly charm me.

My friend loaned me her copy (6th edition 1968) and inside I found a magazine article about Virginia Lee Burton (1909-1970) by Grace Hogarth worked for Houghton Mifflin and she was the editor of The Little House.

"She made me feel that it was my book too - that we were creating it together, step by step. This wasn't true of course. It was completely her own book, from start to finish, and I had only to stand by and cheer her on."

The Little House won the Caldecott Medal in 1943.

Virginia Burton has a sense of pattern that makes her pictures almost like a tapestry. Kirkus Star

The circular patterns that flow through the first thirteen pages, shaped to fit the page, suggest the harmonious values of country life. When change occurs, diagonal lines and drab greys and browns portend the coming industrialisation.” Burton’s choice of colours burst from the pages of her book as each season changes, and the presence of time is evident in every detail of her drawings. With the beauty of her illustrations and the weaving of her words, the reader connects emotionally with the little house as they watch the city limits move in, casting its darkness around the tiny structure. The story itself is so rich, and begins and ends in the happiest of places - on a little hill way out in the country. Drawn to Imagination

I found this article that lists seven reasons to read The Little House. Read more about the plot here on the blog 100 books every child should read. Disney made a movie of this book in 1952 but he only paid Virginia Lee Burton $1000.  Here are some of the illustrations beginning with the end papers:

I am drawn to television shows where people restore old houses and I am also drawn to books which feature old houses that find a new life with a new family such as these:

The Hidden House and also House Held up by trees

A House that Once was

Things to Look Forward to by Sophie Blackall

Things to Look Forward to: 52 large and small joys for today and every day

I first saw this book mentioned by Sophie Blackall on Instagram late in 2020 and so I placed an advance order for a copy. Today it arrived. 

In October 2020 Sophie wrote:

I am determined to make a list of Things To Look Forward To. Flowers which look like furry brains, for example. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, cockscombs or celosia are blooming now. You can pat them. They might make your head feel a tiny bit better. ... (later she wrote) I’m making a list of Things To Look Forward To. A daily reminder that no matter how bad things seem, there is always something bright on the horizon, even if we have to squint to see it.

Image Source: Instagram Sophie Blackall

When Sophie mentioned her book idea in 2020 people responded with so many beautiful ideas such as: hugs, gardens, a blue moon, and grandchildren. 

In 2020 our world changed. Sophie Blackall, like many of us, was "full of anxiety and fear and grief and uncertainty."  One morning she decided to make a list of things to look forward to and now we have this gentle, wise, beautiful book. 

With fifty two things you could place this book on a stand and turn a page each week of the year. 

Here are some that resonated with me.

#1 The sun coming up

#4 Baking something for someone

#14 Listening to a song you've heard before

#16 A flock of birds

#21 The full moon

#32 Finding something you thought you'd lost

#51 Making a list

Here is an interview with Sophie and you can see some art from her book too.

"We can also look forward to everyday things that will buoy our spirits and make us laugh and help us feel alive and that will bring others comfort and hope. I hope this list will give you some Things to Look Forward To."   AND "Making this book felt a bit like building a life raft—a raft composed of wildflowers and songs, new words and old dogs, writing letters and falling in love,” Sophie says. “I felt sure, though, that by the time this book was published, the storm would have receded, and this collection of reminders to look for beauty and savour small pleasures, to find awe in the natural world and joy in our fellow human beings would feel less like a life raft and more like a cheerful tugboat. But here we are. There will always be storms of one kind or another, but I will always be buoyed by books—hopeful, encompassing, life-saving books.”  Sophie Blackall

One page that I also adored contained this image - you will need to read Things to Look Forward To - I am not going to tell you why this page is so special.

Image Source: Instagram Sophie Blackall

I have a plan to gift this book to a friend who is grieving some utterly dreadful life events.  I accidentally purchased two copies which turns out to be a very lucky mistake. This book will be a perfect gift for any adult that you cherish. 

A message of hope and solace in hard times and of joyful anticipation at times of new beginnings - whether you're grieving a loss or starting a new chapter - and for all the days in between - THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO is full of gentle reminders of the objects, occasions, gestures, and ideas that warm our hearts. LoveReading