The Story Blanket - by Ferida Wolff & Harriet May Savitz (Paperback)

About the Book

With no wool to be found in the village, Babba Zarrah, the storyteller, starts unraveling her story blanket bit by bit, to secretly supply the needs of the community, and when the villagers realize what is happening they return the favor.

Book Synopsis

A woman shares imaginative stories and gifts--all from her big, old story blanket--in this charmingly illustrated tale of community, friendship, and kindness.

Babba Zarrah lives in a tiny village in the snow-covered mountains, and the children love to visit her. They settle down on her big, old story blanket and listen to her imaginative tales. One day, Babba Zarrah notices that Nikolai needs new socks, but she has no yarn. "Every question has an answer," Babba Zarrah tells herself, "I just have to find it." So after the children leave, she unravels part of her story blanket and knits him some nice warm socks.

As villagers start receiving mysterious gifts to keep them warm, the story blanket gets smaller and smaller until the children have nothing to sit on at story time. When the villagers finally discover Babba Zarrah's secret, they decide to give her a surprise of her own.

This heartwarming story from Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz is a wonderful read-aloud experience, rich with themes of community, sharing, generosity, and kindness--with a touch of upcycling. Paired with Elena Odriozola's folk-tinged illustrations, this tale is one to read while cuddled up with the ones you love.

Review Quotes

"Charming illustrations make this sweet tale of a close-knit community even more special. . . a warm invitation to enjoy this sweet story again and again." --School Library Journal

"Arresting illustrations. . . this is sweetly vivid in and of itself." --Booklist

About the Author

Ferida Wolff was born in Brooklyn and received degrees from Queens College of the City University of New York. She worked as a teacher and a journalist before becoming a writer. She has published many different kinds of children's books, including fiction and nonfiction, picture books and joke books, activity books and easy chapter books. She lives in New Jersey.

The author of twenty-four books, Harriet May Savitz was born in New Jersey and lived in Pennsylvania for much of her life. She passed away in 2008.

Elena Odriozola studied art and worked in an advertising agency before beginning her career as a the acclaimed illustrator of over one hundred books, which have been published in England, France, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan, and the United States. She lives in Spain.