The Red Blanket [Hardcover]

Eliza Thomas (Author), Joe Cepeda (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

A touching and beautiful adoption story that reveals the challenges as well as the joys of forming a new family.

This is a story about a little girl who needed a mommy
and a forgotten blanket that needed a little girl
and a woman who needed them both.

This is a journey about the forming of a family.
It is as lyrical as a love letter from a mother to her daughter,
as honest as the struggles they encounter,
and as comforting as a cozy red blanket.

Eliza Thomas went to China in 1994 to adopt her daughter PanPan, who was then 5 months old. This is their story.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–After learning that she has qualified to adopt a baby, a woman purchases a variety of necessities, including a soft, red blanket that she has been eyeing for months. She takes it with her to the orphanage in China. Understandably, the infant, PanPan, is upset by all the changes in her young life when she is taken by taxi to a hotel, and the dazzling red blanket is the only comfort she finds on that first day. Over the years, the blanket has become threadbare and fragile while the relationship between mother and daughter has strengthened. Vibrantly colored oil illustrations dominate the pages; even those that are all text have backgrounds painted in bright orange, purple, pumpkin, and blue. The pictures convey the anxiety, the waiting, and the love that are a part of expanding a family. With the number of inter-country adoptions increasing, this story, based on the author's experiences, is a welcome addition.–Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. Thomas, who has written about adoption for adults, presents her first picture book, based on the adoption story she told her own daughter, PanPan, when she was three years old. Cepeda's beautiful full-page oil paintings show the lonely, single woman, happy in her Vermont community, but sad that she has no children. Thrilled when the adoption comes through, she rushes to get baby clothes, and, at the last minute, buys a cuddly red blanket that she sees "all alone on a high shelf." She flies across the ocean to China, and gets her baby from an orphanage. Their first day is hard and lonely: the baby cries and cries; nothing comforts her. The pictures show the baby turning away--until her mother cuddles her in the red blanket. Now PanPan is about 10 years old, and the tattered blanket, in every exuberant picture, is a reminder of that magical day when she and her adoptive mother first became a family. Many families will want this for the warm, honest drama of finding home. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439322537
• ISBN-13: 978-0439322539
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,166,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sweet story, June 1, 2004

By 

Melissa Sack (georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Red Blanket (Hardcover)

The Red Blanket is a very sweet picture book about adoption. This is written instory form from adopted mother to her child. She tells the story of how she was lonley and wanted a child to share her life with. She plans everything out and buys items for her new baby. The items include a special red balnket. The blanket is loney and has been in the children's shop for a long time. The mother feels like it has been waiting for a special child. She goes to China and adopts the baby girl. At first the bay is unsure of the new mother. But she gives the baby the blanket and things go better for them both.

This is a great picture book to teach young children that sometimes Mommys and Babies become a family by adoption.

We recommend this book to children ages 1-4. The book is short enough to keep their attention and has a great story line as well.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, March 20, 2006

By 

Nicole Fritz "traveling crafter" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Red Blanket (Hardcover)

I am getting ready to adopt from China in the next year and wanted to create a library for my child. I am a single woman and this book is perfect. It tells a beautiful story and is about a single woman adopting from China. I love it and so do all of my friends.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, March 8, 2007

By 

Lori "Lori" (Montana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Red Blanket (Hardcover)

I love this book! I purchased it as a gift for a 3 year old adopted from China when she was 10 months old and her single mother. She is at the age when she is asking questions about family and it's important for her to see herself represented in media. The only part i didn't like was that the mother 'felt empty' even though she had a nice home, a dog, etc and that's why she adopted. That idea is a little tricky for a youngster who needs to not feel they are there to take care of their parent. The rest of the messege of the book is quite wonderful and worth it.