My Two Blankets

by Irena Kobald, Freya Blackwood (Illustrator)

Overview

Cartwheel moves to a new country with her auntie, and everything is strange: the animals, the plants—even the wind. An old blanket gives Cartwheel comfort when she’s sad—and a new blanket just might change her world.

This multicultural story of friendship is about leaving home, moving to a foreign and strange place, and finding a new friend. It's a story for all who have experienced change. Irena Kobald’s poetic text, paired with Kate Greenaway medalist Freya Blackwood's powerful paintings, renders an emotional and heart-warming story about two children from diverse backgrounds coming together to become new friends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544432284
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/01/2015
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	316,855
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Irena Kobald is multi-lingual Austrian immigrant to Australia, who teaches aboriginal children in Australian outback communities (the closest shop is 250 kms away!). The children she teaches use English as a fifth language (many speak several Aboriginal languages). 

Freya Blackwood grew up in New South Wales, Australia, and created several of her own illustrated books as a child. She is the illustrator of many acclaimed picture books published throughout the world, including My Two Blankets. After time in Sydney and New Zealand, she now lives in New South Wales with her daughter. www.freyablackwood.com.au

Editorial Reviews

With its bold visual metaphors, My Two Blankets ingeniously captures a child's efforts to weave the old with the new.

The New York Times Book Review - Eugene Yelchin

* "Loneliness, cultural displacement, tentative friendship, and an explosion of sharing and kindness are accessible even to very young readers...An amazingly lovely import." —Kirkus, starred review "With its bold visual metaphors, "My Two Blankets" ingeniously captures a child's efforts to weave the old with the new." —New York Times Book Review "The blanket metaphor is powerful, and the way that sounds are depicted through shape and line works well." —School Library Journal "The illustrations, a combination of watercolor and oils, heighten the effect of the thought-provoking story. Just the right format for children to think about immigrants and friendship." —Booklist —

From the Publisher

01/01/2016
K-Gr 2—Following a war, Cartwheel and her aunt emigrate from their rural village to a westernized city. Under a barrage of foreign sights and sounds, Cartwheel finds comfort by wrapping herself in a "blanket" of familiar words and memories: "When I went out, it was like standing under a waterfall of strange sounds…. It made me feel alone." One day at the park, a blonde girl waves to her. Feeling scared, Cartwheel doesn't respond. Eventually they connect, and the girl starts teaching Cartwheel words, but Cartwheel is very self-conscious: "Sometimes I felt silly and I wanted to cry." At home, she practices the words until they become soft and familiar, and she starts to create a new "blanket" that represents her new life. Eventually she finds balance between the two. The blanket metaphor is powerful, and the way that sounds are depicted through shape and line works well. Cartwheel and her home are shown in bright warm colors, while the new country is portrayed through cool colors. Although Cartwheel and her aunt are the only nonwhite characters, their foreignness is represented through the color palette rather than dress or customs; care is taken to show that the new city is full of people dressed strangely and doing strange things. Unfortunately, the friendship is one-sided; rather than sharing culture and language between them, the girl does all the teaching and guiding, and Cartwheel isn't shown as having anything to offer. VERDICT This visually powerful book may resonate with recent immigrants. A solid addition for libraries.—Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

School Library Journal

★ 2015-06-10
A girl her auntie used to call Cartwheel must flee from a land of war to a place where they can be safe. She finds life there hard and cold, so she takes refuge in a metaphorical blanket of words and memories from her former life. In the park one day, another little girl smiles at her, then brings her to the swings. More than that, she brings her words, and Cartwheel says them to herself, again and again. The text is exquisitely simple, and the watercolor-and-oil images complement, expand, and illuminate the words with magic and delight. Cartwheel is always brown and orange and gold, as is the blanket she weaves in her imagination of the words and sounds of home. The other girl is blue and green and pink and pale yellow, and she brings new words to her friend in the shape of origami forms. As Cartwheel weaves those words into a second blanket of those colors and shapes, they unfold on the page in beauty. Loneliness, cultural displacement, tentative friendship, and an explosion of sharing and kindness are accessible even to very young readers. The final image of Cartwheel teaching her friend how do a cartwheel tugs at the heart with joy. An amazingly lovely import from Australia. (Picture book. 4-10)

Kirkus Reviews