{"id":28738,"date":"2016-04-21T23:36:36","date_gmt":"2016-04-22T03:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=28738"},"modified":"2016-04-21T23:36:36","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T03:36:36","slug":"review-of-my-two-blankets-by-irena-kobald-freya-blackwood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=28738","title":{"rendered":"Review of My Two Blankets, by Irena Kobald & Freya Blackwood"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"my_two_blankets_large\"<\/a>My Two Blankets<\/em><\/p>\n

by Irena Kobald & Freya Blackwood<\/p>\n

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, 2015. 32 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This is a simply lovely book that poetically shows the reader what it feels like to be an immigrant in a country where you don\u2019t know the language.<\/p>\n

On the page where our narrator says, \u201cNobody spoke like I did,\u201d we see strange shapes coming out of people\u2019s mouths all around.<\/p>\n

When I went out, it was like standing
\nunder a waterfall of strange sounds.
\nThe waterfall was cold.
\nIt made me feel alone.<\/p>\n

I felt like I wasn\u2019t me anymore.<\/p>\n

When I was at home,
\nI wrapped myself in a blanket
\nof my own words and sounds.
\nI called it my old blanket.<\/p>\n

My old blanket was warm.
\nIt was soft. It covered me all over.
\nIt made me feel safe.
\nSometimes I didn\u2019t want to go out.
\nI wanted to stay under my
\nold blanket forever.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She meets a girl in the park. Slowly a friendship develops, with shared activities. Slowly she begins to learn words of her new home.<\/p>\n

At night, when I lay in bed
\nunder my old blanket,
\nI whispered the new words
\nagain and again.<\/p>\n

Soon they didn\u2019t sound so cold
\nand sharp anymore.
\nThey started to sound warm and soft.
\nI was weaving a new blanket.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The new blanket grows warm and soft and comfortable as the old one.<\/p>\n

The metaphor used in this book is cozy and accessible. Readers will feel happy with the immigrant child as she finds joy in her new home. The soft pictures beautifully accompany the text, dipping into the metaphorical when the blankets are described.<\/p>\n

We read on the back flap that the author was inspired to write the book by a friendship that developed between her own daughter and a Sudanese child. She teaches aboriginal children in Australian outback communities who use English as their fifth language.<\/p>\n

This book is a lovely way to build bridges of understanding.<\/p>\n

freyablackwood.com.au <\/a>
\nhmhco.com <\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/my_two_blankets.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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