A warm snuggly book, that you can read over a cup of hot chocolate and curled up in a blanket
One day, when the King of this magical kingdom is on a tour of his kingdom, his attention is drawn towards a scarf a little boy is wearing. The scarf is made of "gold and white and crimson".
The King demands (after all he is the King), that the little boy weave him a "longer one, much longer" scarf.
The little boys has no choice and sets about his task as he captures the "gold", the "white" and the "crimson" clouds floating above him and weaves them into threads of "gold", "white" and "crimson" and then spins and spins and spins...till he has made a "longer" scarf for the King.
The scarf is as "soft as a mouse's touch and warm as roasted chestnuts".
Not to be dismissed as a selfish husband and father, the greedy King then demands that the boy make him a "cloak" and "dresses" for his wife and daughter.
The poor boy, dispirited...sets about his task and captures all the clouds of "gold", "white" and "crimson" leaving not a single one in the sky.
The "cloak" and the "dresses" are presented to the royalty. While the King and the Queen are ecstatic at their new-found treasure, the little princess is silent.
When the villagers bewail the lack of rain and its effects on their lives, the little princess requests the little boy to unweave their clothes and return the threads to the sky and thus return the clouds back to wear they belong.
Soon, mother earth is awash with rain and the villagers are happy.
Written by Michael Catchpool and illustrated by Alison Jay this book captures, in a nut-shell, the consequences of our avarice. It's a perfect rendition of the effects our greed has on our planet.
The illustrations are warm and snuggly, the clouds have shapes in the form of animals, the hills are dotted with plump animals that give the hills faces, the hills are dome-shaped:) Lovely.
I read this book several years ago, when my daughter was a toddler. The book never left my mind and I always wanted to read the book. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found this book at my work place.
I bought this book home and read it cover-to-cover. And as you guessed it, I started the review process.
I hope you enjoyed the review.
Image Source: www.amazon.com | Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
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