The Magic Ball of Wool - by Susanna Isern

About the Book

The Magic Ball of Wool is a charming tale of friendship, generosity and kindness that will bring out the best in young readers by encouraging them to help others

Guided Reading Level: L, Lexile Level: 930L

Book Synopsis

Winner at the 2013 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. A magic ball has mysteriously appeared and will help to weave the most beautiful friendship between the animals of the forest.

One morning, a hedgehog wakes up to find a mysterious ball of wool caught in his prickles. Why would he want a ball of wool?, he wonders in dismay. His friend the spider, who was an expert knitter, encouraged him to start knitting, teaching him all the keys and secrets to making a perfect sweater. Fascinated, all of the forest animals come to his house and the hedgehog happily knits something for each of his visitors. CLICKETY-CLICK, CLICKETY-CLICK... A stitch here, a stitch there... When the hedgehog stops knitting, he realizes something amazing-the ball of wool is magic!

A charming tale of friendship, generosity and kindness that will bring out the best in young readers by encouraging them to help others.

Review Quotes

"Writing in the style of a traditional folk tale, Isern has crafted a gentle story of camaraderie and magic with a light dose of ecology. Hilb's colorful art creates a fairy-tale world with spotted mushrooms, swirls of crayon lines and miniature domiciles that will delight young readers. Friendship, crafting and a touch of magic all in one." -Kirkus Reviews

"A very impressive and uplifting story for little ones with its sweet characters, colorful pages and admirable message" -PicPocket Books

"The readers of this picture book will be able to discover values such as solidarity and peer collaboration." -Canal Lector

"A story with such important values as friendship, generosity and cooperation, that also emphasizes the importance of dreams and imagination. (...) It then encourages us not only to pursue our dreams and enjoy them, but also to understand the importance of priorities and the ability to sacrifice that sometimes we need to have when satisfying a need more important than ours." -Literatura respetuosa

"A sweet charming story that will bring out the best in every reader and will make them want to help others. A book that teaches us values, to enjoy dreams but above all to share with those who need it most." -Coleccionando cuentos

"Susanna Isern's stories should be prescribed as therapy: when one feels sad or a little demoralized at the unpleasant events that occur around us, stories like this one have the ability to reconcile us with the world." -Apegoyliteratura

About the Author

Susanna Isern (La Seu d'Urgell, Spain, 1978) is an award-winning children's books author. She is also a professor of Psychology of learning at the European University of the Atlantic and directs the Cabinet of Psychology at Aula Dédalo in Santander. Since she published her first picture book in 2011, more than 30 children's books have seen the light of day. Most of her works are sold internationally and can be found in more than a dozen languages, and also written in Braille. Among her most popular albums we find What Are You Scared of, Little Mouse? awarded Silver Medal in the USA Moonbeam Children's Books Award 2015 and The Magic Ball of Wool, awarded Silver Medal at the USA Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2013.

The award-winning illustrator Nora Hilb was born and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During the 80'ies, she was jailed for four years for political reasons by the dictatorship at the time. Hilb has won numerous awards for her illustration work. She has contributed as an author or illustrator to more than 80 books, including Little Chick and Mommy Cat (Silver Medal Winner-Spanish Language Book at the 2012 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards) and The Magic Ball of Wool.