Gifts

Written by Jo Ellen Bogart, Illustrated by Barbara Reid. Scholastic Canada

My grandma went a-travelling, said what would you have me bring?

“Not much,” said I, “Just a piece of the sky, and a hundred songs I can sing…”

When Grandma heads out for adventure she asks her granddaughter what she should bring back.

The creative response and remarkable fulfillment are delivered through clever rhyme and magical illustrations in this lovely cross-generational story!

Celebrating 25 years in print, this classic tale from award-winning creators Jo Ellen Bogart and Barbara Reid is now available with a fresh new look!

Available in French

Gifts

Winner

  • Canadian Associations of Children’s Librarians, Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Medal
  • Bronze Award, Dimensional Art Director’s Award Show, New York
  • International Board on Books for Young People Honour List
  • Canadian Children’s Book Centre TD Grade One Giveaway selection

Shortlisted

  • Ruth Schwartz Award for Children’s Literature
  • Mr Christie Book Award

The loving relationship between grandma and granddaughter as each ages is tenderly captured in hugs, smiles, and subtle physical changes.

— School Library Journal

…these illustrations are astonishing. Whether in large, detailed landscapes or dramatic close-ups, the book contains a wealth of plastic effects, from the soft folds and textures of the grandmother’s clothes to the sparkling bubbles of a foamy sea.

— Kirkus

Reid’s Plasticine bas-relief illustrations are as spirited and game as the grannie.

— The Globe and Mail

…text and illustration are almost perfectly wedded, resulting in a book that, with its rhyming text, will have children asking to have it read to them over and over again.

— The Boston Book Review

The plasticine illustrations have both painterly and sculptural qualities. Indeed, they are narrative and may be read.

— Canadian Children’s Literature

. . . a cheerful and poignant evocation of the bond between the old and the young, and the special gifts of shared experience.

— Today’s Parent

Book illustration, "GIFTS", client: Scholastic Canada. © Barbara Reid Book illustration, "GIFTS", client: Scholastic Canada. © Barbara Reid Book illustration, "GIFTS", client: Scholastic Canada. © Barbara Reid

Click the image to see an excerpt

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