The Quilt Maker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau illustrated by Gail de Marcken

Over the years the King collected thousands of gifts. Some were practical, some were mysterious and some were whimsical. But the King was not happy. He was sure there was something, some special gift, that would make him happy. Then he heard about the quilts made by an old lady who lived at the top of a mountain. He demanded that she give him a quilt. When she refused he had her captured and chained inside a cave with a huge sleeping bear. 

The old woman was as wise as she was kind. She can see the old bear needs some comfort so from her shawl and pine needles she makes him a soft pillow. The King is now enraged. He orders his soldiers to  place the old woman on a tiny island, barely big enough for her feet to stand, in the middle of the ocean. A tiny bird lands on her shoulder and she makes him a coat from a scrap of her vest. The little sparrow is so grateful he summons hundreds of his friends and they lift the old woman off the island and carry her back to the shore. 

The woman explains to the King the only way she will give him a quilt is if he gives away all of his treasures. As each treasure is gifted she will sew a new square onto his quilt. 

"I give my quilts to those who are poor or homeless ... They are not for the rich."

It takes years and years but eventually all of his treasures are given away and finally the quilt is completed. 

"As I promised you long ago,' the woman said, 'when the day came that you yourself were poor, only then would I give you a quilt.' The king's great sunny laugh made green apples fall and flowers turn his way. 'But I am not poor,' he said. 'I may look poor, but in truth my heart is full to bursting, filled with memories of all the happiness I've given and received. I'm the richest man I know."

If ever a book might inspire you to take up quilting surely this is the one! There is also a strong case for allowing readers to pull the dust jacket off this scrumptious book because hiding underneath is a list of all the treasures collected by the king as represented by quilt pattern names.

I love this rich description of the quilt colours:

"The blues seemed to come from the deepest part of the ocean, the whites from the northernmost snows, the greens and purples from the abundant wildflowers, the reds, oranges, and pinks from the most wonderful sunsets."

I have mentioned The Quilt Makers Gift in previous posts so it seemed odd that I had not talked about this book here in any detail. This is a book I have read to my library groups for many years.  I found this video of the whole book which is really well done. Here are some companion reads:

The Greatest Treasure of Charlemagne the King

The Glassmaker's daughter

The Minstrel and the Dragon Pup

The Most Wonderful Thing

Each page in The Quilt Maker's Gift begins with a small quilt image in the corner reminiscent of illuminated letters found in ancient texts.

I do like the names used for some quilting patterns:

Windblown Square

Northwind

Snail's Trail

Baby's Block

The two books with quilting instructions inspired by this picture book are long out of print but they certainly look very interesting to me (a non quilter).

There is a sequel or actually a prequel to The Quilt Maker's Gift and I will explore this is a future post. 

The Thank You book by Mary Lyn Ray illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

Thank you is for buzz and bloom and grass 

(and toes) and all that makes us wonder.

When I saw the cover of this book I knew I would love it. This is a quiet book with gentle almost retro illustrations which go beyond the lyrical text. The Thank You book is perfect to share quietly pausing to notice the changing seasons and happy scenes of daily life.

Here are some ideas for using this book with a group of young children.

I am keen to read some other books my Mary Lyn Ray. Stephanie Graegin is the illustrator of the wonderful Heartwood Hotel series.

A delightful little book that encourages readers to connect to places, times, and one another with the simple act of saying “thank you” and whose illustrations promote equality, diversity, kindness, and gratitude for all. Kirkus

… here’s the book—twined around a child’s day, a child’s year, and their place in the world they are part of. Mary Lyn Ray interview for The Children’s Book Review

There is such a lovely gentleness to the way the text points out all the tiny pleasures of life that fill us with a spark of joy or happiness,using quiet imagery that feels like being wrapped in a blanket. Baby Bookworm

There is a companion volume to go with The Thank You book - The Friendship book

The perfect book to pair with The thank you book is The Quiet book.

I am keen to look for this book:

Giving thanks illustrated by Ellen Surrey

Giving thanks - the subtitle says "more than 100 ways to say thank you."

"Hi I'm Andy. When I was asked if there was anyone I would like to thank, these are the people I thought of."

I love the retro style of this book and the lovely message of simply saying thank you.  Each double page poses a question.

• What would you like to say thank you for?
• If you could give them a gift, what would you give?
• If you could do anything for them, what would you do?
• If you could share an afternoon with them, what would you do?
• If you could give them a feeling what would you give them?

The final two pages give ideas for thank you cards and gratitude jars.

Thank you are two simple words but they can be so powerful when expressed in a truly meaningful way.

This is a book to share with a young child or use with a class.  Take time to see what Andy does with his dad on each page.  It will warm your heart.