Activity Description
I read and then I wrote a short review of the 2015 Winner of The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) – Picture Book of the Year award My Two Blankets written by Irena Kobald and illustrated by Freya Blackwood and published it on Goodreads.
I focussed on reading the story aloud to better understand the experience of the story by younger readers.
Flicka the Greyhound being read ‘My Two Blankets’
What did you learn?
In my review I found it hard to describe the story without giving away key plot points (Plaja, n.d.) and had to rewrite this section many times.
As I highlighted in my review this type of book, although aimed at younger readers, would benefit from adult intervention around the story’s ideas and theme, and would prompt deeper understanding of the concepts of the discomfort of new experiences, language learning and the impacts of conflicts on children. One of the most supportive thing adults can do to help young readers, even more than selecting high-quality books, is to have meaningful conversations with them during story reading (Strouse et al., 2018, p. 12).
How was the activity relevant to your professional practice?
As a librarian who primarily works with imagery, I am keenly aware of the impact of imagery to convey messages or ideas. Freya Blackwood’s illustrations are deceptively simple in their conveyance of the ideas of the old, familiar and comforting, and the new, unfamiliar and frightening. The use of the two-colour palette and the colours coming together in the illustrations and the associated text on the final pages clearly shows Cartwheel’s growing level of comfort in her new country whilst still retaining her own identity.
Knowledge gaps?
I realised I had very little knowledge about how a book is selected as a CBCA winner. The CBCA has an extensive website and presence on social media platform which provides more information about the awards (Children’s Book Council of Australia, n.d.). My home state of Tasmania also has a state organisation which provide information about events at the state-based level as well as a blog (Children’s Book Council of Australia – Tasmanian Branch, n.d.). I also had not noticed the prominence of award labels on children’s books and how this impact’s their marketing once they are published. Almost every description I found of this story online referenced the CBCA and Kate Greenway Medal, I also struggled find any online criticism of the book.
I also found myself reflecting on the generalised nature of the story. The non-identified original and new countries, the ambiguous nature of Cartwheel’s name (not tied to anyone language and/or culture) and the non-specific naming of other characters (Auntie and the girl in the park) might be stereotyping Cartwheel as only a refugee from Africa that struggles to speak English rather than an unique individual from a particular country and culture (Atkins, 2013, para. 28). There some is tension here around how cultures are represented by authors not from them. I am also interested in whether this book would be seen as an award-winning representation of diversity in 2021 and beyond? I am interested in seeing future winners in this CBCA category, and whether their authors and illustrations come from diverse cultural backgrounds.
My Two Blankets by Irena Kobald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My Two Blankets is written by Irena Kobald and illustrated by Freya Blackwood and was the 2015 Winner of The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) – Picture Book of the Year award. Freya Blackwood is a previous CBCA winner and is also the winner of the 2010 Kate Greenway medal – the UK’s most prestigious award for children’s illustration
My Two Blankets tells the story of Cartwheel, a young girl who moves from an unidentified country (most likely in Africa by the illustrations) to a new country ‘to be safe’. She finds her new country strange and everything unfamiliar. She especially finds the language of her new country unfamiliar, and she does not feel like herself and so retreats to the ‘old blanket’ of her first language where she feels safe. Through the course of the story she makes new connections in her new country and creates a new blanket through her learning of a new language. Over time no matter what blanket Cartwheel uses she feels comfortable and like herself.
The safety of her first home and language is represented in illustrations in warm tones of reds and oranges and the new unfamiliar country and language are represented by cool tones of blues and greens.
The text of My Two Blankets is written simply and is aimed at 3-6 year olds. Adults would be able to assist in understanding the theme of the book and help children relate Cartwheel’s experiences to their own lives. Although it is implied that Cartwheel has come from a country experiencing war and may have lost parents the descriptions are sensitive and appropriate to the age group. The use of a blanket as the metaphor for language and safety is a concept that would be easily understood by readers.
Overall My Two Blankets is a beautiful, gently told story whose illustrations really raise it to a higher level. Highly recommended.
References
Atkins, L. (2013). What’s the story? Issues of diversity and children’s publishing in the U.K. E-rea. 11(1). https://doi.org/10.4000/erea.3537
Children’s Book Council of Australia. (n.d.). About the CBCA Book of the Year awards. https://cbca.org.au/about-the-awards
Children’s Book Council of Australia – Tasmanian Branch. (n.d.). About us. https://www.cbcatas.org/about-us/
Plaja, L. (n.d.). How to write a book review. BookTrust. https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/tips-and-advice/writing-tips/writing-tips-for-teens/how-to-write-a-book-review/
Strouse, G., Nyhout, A. & Ganea, P., (2018). The role of book features in young children’s transfer of information from picture books to real-world contexts. Frontiers in Psychology. 9(50), 1-12.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00050