The Big Trip by Alex Willmore

Bear is a huge show off. He loves to "strut his stuff" and nothing is allowed to get in his way. He is thoughtless and unkind and downright rude to the other forest animals. But of course he eventually meets his match when he bumps into a huge moose. 

"Hey Bear, you can't just go around doing whatever you want, pushing everyone around.' said Moose. 'The forest is for everyone and you need to take care."

Bear cannot shift Moose so he finally steps around him all the while poking out his tongue. He does not see the slope. He falls down and down and down and lands at the bottom of a smelly swamp. 

Now comes the delicious dilemma. Bear needs help but he has been so unkind to all the other animals so of course they are not keen to bother. Luckily Moose is the voice of kindness and reason. 

"None of us are perfect, right? We all make mistakes from time to time. What do you say we help him out?"

This story could be so didactic but the illustrations, the glorious huge moose and the choice of words help to keep the story light and fun.  

"Bear was embarrassed, a little bit soggy and very very grateful. He smiled shyly, 'Thanks everyone' he said softly."

Think about the way Alex Willmore uses the words - soggy, shyly and softly.  They are perfect choices and completely change the tone of the story. It is very clear Bear has learnt his lesson.

I am very happy to tell you this 2020 book (here in Australia) is very inexpensive in paperback at less than $15. 

Here are some other books illustrated by Alex Willmore:

Little Wise Wolf by Gijs van der Hammen and Hanneke Siemensma translated by Laura Watkinson

Little Wolf (perhaps he needs to learn about wisdom so I have abbreviated his name) lives on the other side of the mountains. He likes to read big books, experiment with herbs and study the stars. The animals of the forest are in awe of his intelligence and they are sure Little Wolf will be the one to answer their questions but he grumbles at them and tells them all to go away. Then a messenger crow arrives from the king. He has a letter from the king.  Little Wolf would like to say no but after all this is the king and the king is ill so Little Wolf sets off on the long journey to the castle. The road is rough, the mountains are high, his bicycle is useless and then it begins to rain. 

Image Source: Hanneke Siemensma

"Then in the distance he saw a light. And there, deep in the forest, Little Wise Wolf found a tent with a campfire and a pan of soup."

His friends from the forest have been following him. They help Little Wolf continue with his journey but when he does arrive his confidence is gone (and so has his pride). 

"I don't think I can do it. Someone else will have to make the king better."

But he does know what to do. In all that reading he learned about a lot about useful herbs. Little Wolf makes the king some medicine and after a few days the king recovers. Little Wolf knows he only reached the king because his friends helped him. This is the true wisdom he needs to learn and, while he will go on reading those big books, he now knows "I still have a lot to learn ... "

Little Wise wolf is one of those perfect picture books which you can easily share with a young child and also with a group of older students. I would like to say this is a book to add to your library collection but sadly here in Australia it is only available as a very expensive hardcover.

Little Wolf’s journey really feels epic and there are some impressive techniques used by the illustrator to set this scene. Liquid light shines out from the pages that are covered in a rich purple black. You can almost taste the ink on the pages. Association of Illustrators

The original Dutch title of this book is Kleine wijze wolf. 

You can see art by Dutch illustrator Hanneke Siemensma here. Hanneke and Gijs have two children and live in Haarlem in Holland. This is their first book. I love the way the back end paper includes a map of the full journey - there and back - to the castle of the king.

Truly wonderful in all aspects. Kirkus Star review

In this big story disguised as a small one, Gijs van der Hammen deftly explores the value of relationships and the interconnectedness of us all. It highlights for young children the important life lesson that everyone has unique skills and knowledge, so everyone in a community matters --- and we all need the help of others sometimes. Beautifully told and richly illustrated by Hanneke Siemensma, this engaging read-aloud has the timeless appeal of a folktale. It would be an excellent choice to begin conversations about the social studies concept of community and the character education topics of kindness and empathy. Kids Can Press

I would pair this book with Shelter by Celine Claire illustrated by Qin Leng.

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. 

Little Oleg by Margaret and John Cort

First off this is a very old book (1965) - over fifty years old actually - but as you may have guessed it is new to me.  We are about to hold our annual library donate-a-book event. This is always so exciting as we display over 1000 new books and over the coming weeks students will begin to read the books they donate and then share other new books with their friends.  We have spent many months preparing for this important library event and one of our final boxes of new books arrived last week.  Inside was Little Oleg - a book I certainly needed to discover.

"Once upon a time there were two friends, called Eric and Oleg.  They lived in a northern country.  Eric's house was large and he had several acres of land. Oleg's house was small and all the land he owned was his vegetable garden."

Do you get a sense here of these characters?  Reading between the lines does one seem proud and perhaps selfish and the other humble and generous?

Eric's house burns down.  Oleg offers hospitality. He shares his limited food.  He even helps to rebuild Eric's house but nothing he does is good enough for Eric.  The house "looked quite splendid and Oleg felt proud as he had done most of the work. 'Of course', said Eric, it's not as grand as my old house, but it will do."

The truly special thing about Oleg, though, is that despite this criticism, despite the fact that he has gone into debt trying to feed Eric's enormous appetite, he continues to show kindness and caring towards his neighbour. Oleg's fortunes do change thanks to Eric who unwittingly gives Oleg a coat with valuable buttons.  Oleg hosts a party to celebrate a return to the good times but Eric cannot see through his own misery and pride.  He does not recognize the hand of friendship when it is offered to him and he simply retreats into his new home, alone.

This might look like a book for younger students but it does contain a deep message that you could share with older students.  I do think there would be lots to discuss here especially around the topic of decision making.

I would pair this book with Herbert and Harry by Pamela Allen.