My Two Blankets

When a young girl, nicknamed Cartwheel by her aunt/guardian, moves from her war-torn African country to Australia in this moving picture-book examination of the refugee experience, she finds everything around her strange and discomforting. The language of her new country is especially distressing, surrounding her with a "waterfall" of sounds that make her feel cold and isolated. She takes comfort in a "blanket" of the familiar - in the colors and sounds of home. But then Cartwheel is approached by a friendly girl at the park, a girl who plays with her, and patiently teaches her new words. Slowly, Cartwheel begins to construct a new blanket, made from the sounds and experiences of her new world...

A beautiful book - conceptually, show more textually, aesthetically - My Two Blankets offers a poignant examination of the experience of newly arrived refugees (and of immigrants in general), concluding in a hopeful and uplifting way. I really appreciated the central metaphor that Irena Kobald - who makes her debut here - utilizes, as the idea of our native language and culture being a sort of security blanket for us is spot on, and is a notion with which younger children will be able to readily identify. I don't know if all children would be as persistent as Cartwheel's new friend - would they feel awkward approaching someone new? - but this story will encourage young readers and listeners to take a chance, even if the newcomer can't fully communicate with them at first. The story here touched my heart, but the artwork, done in a combination of oil and watercolor paint by the immensely talented Freya Blackwood, was also immensely appealing, capturing the emotional journey of the main character perfectly. This was no surprise, as Blackwood is one of my absolute favorites - her work on The Selkie and the Fisherman, sadly not available in the USA, was outstanding. In sum: an outstanding picture-book, one I would recommend wholeheartedly to anyone looking for children's stories about the refugee/immigrant experience, or about friendship across cultural and linguistic barriers. show less

This book is stunning. I'm just going to start with that. Freya Blackwood has taken a difficult subject and made it accessible, explaining emotions through gorgeous, touching art.

In a warm, brown background is a girl whose Auntie calls her Cartwheel. Then the war comes. Now she is alone in a gray, frightening city. The words pepper her like a cold waterfall and she is alone. At home she can wrap herself in a blanket of the words and sounds she knows, but not outside. Then she meets another girl. At first tentative and uncertain, Cartwheel slowly accepts the girl's persistent friendship and begins to create a new blanket of words.

The illustrations are lovely, showing Cartwheel's original home, dress, and familiar blanket of words in show more glowing orange with the new land in cold grays, blues and greens. Gradually, as Cartwheel adds to her words, the colors come together until the last spread shows a blue and green landscape glowing with touches of vibrant orange.

For children who have never known the experience of being in a strange country where they don't speak the language, this is a lovely and gentle way to explain the feelings and emotions one might go through. For those who are experiencing this, this title will validate their feelings and show them hope of adding to, not replacing, their blanket of words and experiences.

Verdict: A lovely addition to any picture book collection. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780544432284; Published 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

A picture-book story of immigration told from the pov of a young refugee sounds like it would be something unbearably heart-wrenching and difficult. But this is about courage, resilience, empathy, and, ultimately, joy. Not just hope for a better future, but joy in the journey that is starting right now.

Beautifully poetic metaphor, and gorgeous art to enrich. There are no blankets... but even young children will be able to understand why that word is chosen to represent the feelings.

Very highly recommended to all. I will look for more by both author and illustrator. And this is going right on to my 'to reread' shelf.

My Two Blankets is an influential story about a girl transitioning from her old world to a complete new world where everything is different. I think it was incredibly beautiful to incorporate a metaphor within the message of the story; blankets representing her covering her culture for which she feels safe and secure in. Many important themes are introduced here like loneliness, language barriers, change, friendship and belonging which would be beneficial to discuss with students in the classroom.

I absolutely loved this book! I thought the symbolism was beautiful! I think everyone ccan relate to having their own comfort zones or "old blankets." After coming to America for fear of their safety during war time, Cartwheel tries to adjust to a new life in a new country. She soon finds out that just about everything feels strange to her in America, and she craves the safety of her old blanket even more. One day she makes a new friend at the park. The two enjoy spending time together and the friend teaches Cartwheel more and more English words. Cartwheel soon feels more and more confident and begins making a new blanket that feels very comfortable two. She realizes that the blanket she creates can have ALL of the things she wants.

This wonderful, and gentle picture book gives us the story of a child adjusting to a new life, in a new country, where everything seems strange. "We came to this country to be safe. Everything was strange.....Even the wind felt strange."
The two blankets of the title are the child viewing her two lives - the old and the new but it takes her awhile to make the new blanket. The images are perfect. Sparse when they need to be. Even the choice of color is interesting. A wonderful, wonderful book .

Summary: This picture book is about a young girl named "Cartwheel" who moves to a new country and feels out of place. She uses an imaginary blanket to find comfort in her old language and memories. Over time, she meets a new friend who helps her learn the new language, and she creates a second "blanket" filled with new words and experiences. The story explores themes of cultural identity, friendship, and the journey of adapting to a new home while keeping connections to your past.
Comments: The imagery in this novel is beautiful, and I love how imaginative and creative the main character is portrayed to be. I think that imaginative characters being represented in children's literature is crucial because it can make young readers feel show more seen and accepted for their imaginative practices. The illustrations in this story are also quite cute, which I think preschoolers/kinders would find enjoyable. I would definitely add this book to my future classroom, as I think the message it oromotes is beneficial. show less