Customer Reviews

Pelle's New Suit

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We love all of her books and buy them 1 at a time as we can afford them. In an age of big in your face pop up books and childrens books that make your eyes hurt these books are a wonderful find. As always the illustrations are beautiful - I read all the reviews first but few had actual specifics about the actual invdividual stories, so that's what I've done here. I hope it helps others know what wonderful books they are. I wish they were easier to find in Canada. Anyhow this book is about pelle a swedish boy who had a lamb of his own. As they both grow Pelle's clothes get too small. So he shears off all the sheeps wool and takes it to his one grandmother and asks her to card the wool for him. In exchange she needs her carrot patch weeded which he does for her. Then he takes it to his other grandmother and asks her to please spin the wool into yarn which she does in exchange for him tending her cows. Then he asks the painter for some dye to dye the yarn. He asks him to take the row boat over to the store for some supplies and offers him the change to buy his dye there. Then he dyes the wool himself and hangs it to dry. He asks his mother to weave the yarn into cloth for him which she does as he watches his little sister for her while she does it. He then takes it to the tailor and asks him if he will make a suit for him...since the tailor needs his hay and wood brought in and his pigs fed. Pelle does that for him, the tailor makes his suit, on Sunday Pelle puts it on and thanks his lamb very much for his suit! Heartwarming tale!!!

The illustrations alone make this book a prize in any child's library, but the story is wonderful as well. Pelle shows resourcefulness, confidence and integrity as he swaps his talents for those of others in order to have a new suit made from the wool he has shorn from his sheep.

I bought this for my sons 6th birthday and he has read it every day since then-that is 1 1/2 months ago. Great reading-no villains-just one hero-Pelle

Pelle, a young Swedish boy, has a lamb which he cares for himself. When he begins to outgrow his coat, he shears the lamb and seeks help from his family and community to card, spin, weave, dye, and sew the wool into a suit, trading chores for the help that others give him. Finally he puts on his new suit and thanks the lamb for the wool, while all the people who have participated in the project look on.

The illustrations in this story are charming, and the story is delightful on many levels. In contrast with the modern stereotype of childhood as a season of entertainment and consumption, Pelle not only demonstrates responsibility in caring for his lamb, but also contributes to the priorities and needs of others as they care for him. The story also gives a picture of how clothing and fabrics were laboriously crafted before the advent of industrial mass-production, and the cooperative nature of the project emphasizes a value for community. All these elements combine to create a book which is comforting, enjoyable and educational.

How I only wish life could still be. Pelle cuts his wool from his sheep, and through several barters of chores, has a suit made for him. Innocent. I believe this the best Beskow book. Ages2-6.

Pelle has outgrown his suit - just as his lamb has grown a new coat of wool. Pelle helps his grandmothers, his neighbor, his mother and the tailor. With their assitance and some work of his own Pelle is the proud owner of a new suit. This is a beautiful story of cooperation set in a time and place when such tasks as sheering your sheep and rowing your boat to shore for supplies are commonplace. Elsa Beskow's books never fail to deliver a good story combined with loving illustrations.

I think this book is great but I was intentionally ordering a full-size hardback, not a mini edition. Nowhere was the book described as mini but that's what was shipped. I feel like it will get lost on the bookshelf amongst the full-size books.

Love all the books by Elsa Beskow, but didn't realize I was ordering the "mini" version of this book! It's a great small size, but not what I was looking for. Make sure you are ordering the size you want!

A thoroughly lovely tale of a boy who learns both resourcefulness and cooperation so that everyone's needs are met. It takes place in a time most of us only wish we remembered. I'm not saying the past was perfect (I really enjoy things like hot water heaters and integration), but it's delightful to read about a little boy who can do many useful things, in a time when children were more a part of society and less separated by bright red plastic noisemakers.

I've loved this book since I was about 4 years old, and now am purchasing it to give to my god child.

It's a wonderful story, with delightful pictures, and it is a true "keeper"!