Children's Book Monday

Thank you all for leaving sweet comments and entering my first children's book giveaway!
I put all the names in one of my hubby's baseball caps (Go, Broncos!) and he drew out the name of....

Karen, from The Firstbrook Five!

Congratulations, Karen! You will have your choice of one of the first ten books I reviewed. (I wish I could have entered, since I don't even own them all!)

We'll do this again after ten more reviews, so please keep reading!

I don't think I will be able to do justice to this week's choice. It's just that good. Perhaps you've even already heard of it, and love it too. Well, let's just cozy up and live the story again!


The Quiltmaker's Gift
Story by Jeff Brumbeau
Pictures by Gail de Marcken




Here is a beautiful story, in so many ways. Visually, textually, audibly...such a pleasure. It is the story of an old quiltmaker, who lives in the misty mountains up high. She stitches beautiful, warm quilts, and gives them away to those who need them most - the poor. She pours her love and tenderness into each block, and lovingly wraps them around the shivering shoulders of those sleeping outside in the chill, and for this reason alone, she leaves the mountain on the darkest and coldest nights.

But there is a king in the land who likes nothing better than to receive presents, so he passes a law enabling him to celebrate his birthday twice a year! His subjects are commanded to bring him gifts, and those who do not are sought out by his soldiers.

He owns almost all of the prettiest things in the world - his castle is stacked from top to bottom. But he is not happy - in fact, he never smiles.

When he learns that there is a woman living up on the mountain who has never given him one of her quilts, he sets off with a thousand soldiers to demand one, hoping it will finally make him happy.

The woman refuses, because her quilts are only for those who need them, and she can easily see that he doesn't. The only way she will part with one is if he will make presents of everything he owns, and with each gift that he would give, she would sew in another piece of the quilt.

Of course, the king cannot part with his precious things, and so in his anger, he punishes her, hoping she will change her mind.

This book, so vivid in its illustrations, carries you on a tale that exudes great character; always, the old woman is thinking of others. And when the king finally decides to give away his treasure, he finds the elusive joy he was seeking.

We loved looking at the quilt blocks with their individual names on the inside cover, and then naming each one we saw that corresponded with the story. The woman stitches with a mug of steaming blackberry tea by her side, and lives simply, and simply to give. It is enchanting.

Every page is busy with color, and so much detail. The cat lies on a sweet, colorful little quilt the old woman stitched for him. The king's room full of treasure is a child's dream! There are dolls, soldiers, wagons, bats and balls, balloons, shining armor, cake, unicorns...excess even visible to the child's eye. The tree the old woman sits in for her punishment is full of sparrows, wearing little purple coats she has made for them.

It is beautifully written, beautifully illustrated, with a beautiful lesson. And just when you think you can't get enough of this enchanting tale, I will be back next week, to review its' prequel!

For more Children's Book Monday reviews, click on the graphic in the sidebar. Happy reading!

Now, does anyone know where I can get some blackberry tea? ~smile~