Ian Koh / Foter / CC BY-NC

I don’t know what it is, but every year around this time, I get really into organizing and de-cluttering. I think that this year it may be even worse because of all I’ve been learning about poverty and oppression in the world around me.

Here is one of my favorite children’s books that celebrates simplicity and the joy of giving:

The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau and Gail de Marcken. I haven’t read it to David because I don’t want him to rip the pages.

Here’s the synopsis main part of the story without the ending:

A woman makes beautiful quilts to give to the poor and needy. A unhappy king who already has everything wants a quilt. But the quiltmaker will only give him one if he makes presents of everything he owns.

I will leave you to guess what happens, or read it to find out.

Things I love about the book:

• Beautiful, detailed illustrations
• Message that happiness does not come from what we have

Something I would change:

• Illustrations just feature people with pale skin

Appropriate for:

• Adults who like reading picture books (people like me)
• Elementary age children for read-aloud/independent reading (you know your child’s abilities better than me)