The Girl and the Bicycle

The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely LOVE this sweet, wordless book about a girl who spies a bicycle in a store window and does chores all year to earn money to buy it, only to discover it's no longer available. She chooses kindness and generosity to her little brother instead, despite her overwhelming disappointment. And there is a surprise waiting for her at the neighbor's house when the children return home.

I checked this out from the library last week, and my son has been fetching it, asking to read it to me--yes, I have my kids tell ME what's happening on each page--every single night since then. That makes my librarian-mama's heart so happy!!

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The Quiltmaker's Journey

The Quiltmaker's Journey by Jeff Brumbeau
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The follow-up story to The Quiltmaker's Gift, this picture book tells how the quiltmaker transformed from an unhappy, sheltered rich girl to a generous woman who lives alone on a mountain sewing beautiful quilts for the poor.

The illustrations are gorgeous and captivate my toddler, making it one of her favorites to read over and over. The story is lovely overall, although I find myself making snarky mental comments about the plot holes (for example: if everyone in the town was rich, did that include the myriad servants, and if so, why didn't they quit?). There is a lot of text, which makes it better for older children, so most of the time I use the pictures to tell an abridged version of the story at bedtime.

Themes: generosity, poverty, animal helpers, use your life

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