Pelle's New Suit

When Pelle - the eponymous little hero of this classic Swedish picture-book, first published in 1912 as Pelles nya kläder - begins to outgrow his suit, he looks to his lamb for the solution to his problem. Shearing the lamb of its fleece, Pelle appeals to his grandmother for help in carding the wool - something she is willing to do, if he will weed her carrot patch for her. Having obtained the carded wool, Pelle next appeals to his other grandmother, asking her help in spinning the wool into yarn. She too is willing, if Pelle will tend to her cows for her. And so it goes, with Pelle exchanging his services - from running errands to babysitting his sister - for the skilled aid of the adults around him, until finally, he has a brand new show more suit!

The narrative of this one reminded me a bit of a folktale - the kind in which the hero or heroine must arrange a series of exchanges, in order to eventually gain what they want - with the added benefit of providing an educational 'summary' of how cloth and clothing was made, before the advent of mass production. The simple text appears below each page-sized illustration, on the right, with a facing page that is entirely blank. Such an abundance of white space might be overwhelming in some books, but here the overall effect is one of unrushed peace - a feeling well-suited to this gentle tale, with its sweet illustrations. Recommended to anyone who enjoys Elsa Beskow's artwork, or is looking for a gentle tale that emphasizes the importance of give and take, and working for what you want. show less

I read Pelle's New Suit in French, Paul et son habit neuf (because my library only had the French version), and I loved both the story and the illustrations; they are sweet, gentle and engaging. I have always loved Elsa Beskow's picture books, not only because of the wonderful Jugendstil-like illustrations, but even more so because there is such a loving, respectful attitude towards children and children's abilities and responsibilities present in her stories. Children are neither approached as irresponsible and completely dependent on adult guidance, nor are they portrayed as miniature adults; they are children, but they do have responsibilities and can be trusted with household and farm chores and work.

Pelle (Paul in the French show more version) does get his new Sunday suit, but in order to get the wool from his lamb to the taylor, he has to not only ask the people around him (Pelle's family and acquaintances) for favours, he also has to do favours for them to reciprocate. Thus, his one grandmother cards the wool, and in exchange, Pelle weeds her garden; his other grandmother spins the carded wool, while Pelle watches over her cows. I love the give and take of Pelle's New Suit and I also appreciate the fact that Pelle is seen as mature enough to raise and care for a lamb, weed his grandmother's garden, take a boat across the lake on an errand for the painter and so on. Recommended for fans of Elsa Beskow and children who enjoy sweet and engaging, old-fashioned family stories. show less

This book was a gift from my friend Judith, and I've read it through several times but had never logged it in Goodreads before.

I've been reading through some of the small books I have lying around just as fun little detours from my main reads.

The book is so sweet and the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. I would definitely recommend this as a gift to anyone with a textile hobby - knitters, spinners, dyers, weavers, seamstresses and tailors - of any age. And of course any child, as it teaches the very satisfying lesson that nothing appears out of thin air, which I think is quite valuable and overlooked these days.

Fun Fact: my cat took an interest in this book as it sat on my side table for whatever reason, so I read it out loud to show more have her like storytime.

I'm going to die alone lol show less

Pelle is a Swedish boy who owns his own lamb. In the spring, he shears his sheep. He takes his wool from person to person as they transform the wool into a new suit. A sweet look into the process of making clothing. The narrative is structured as a kind of twist on the Old Woman and Her Pig, in which every request from Pelle to a new craftsman is met with a request for him to help them in some way.

Pelle has a lamb whose coat grows longer and longer, while Pelle's suit grows shorter! Pelle shears his lamb but he doesn't know what to do next. Pelle offers to do chores and run errands for his family and neighbors in exchange for their help to card, spin, dye and weave the wool. When the fleece has finally been made a fine blue cloth, Pelle asks one last favor -- for the tailor to make it into a smart new suit.

With so many children today disconnected from the origon of the products we consume this is a delightful story with beautiful illustrations of how Pelle shears his lamb and helps with all the steps needed to turn the fleece into a fine new suit.

Juv. story wool from sheep to suit