Warm As Wool (Aladdin Picture Books) (Hardcover)

by Scott Russell Sanders (Author), Helen Cogancherry (Illustrator) "IT WAS AN ICY PLACE TO LIVE IN WINTER, THIS ROUGH CABIN in a clearing..." (more)
Key Phrases: Betsy Ward, Josiah Ward

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this modest tale set in 1803 Ohio, a pioneer mother has a plan to keep her children warm: it starts with sheep purchased with coins she'd been saving from her former days in Connecticut. Ages 5-10.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-- The reality of the American pioneer experience is embodied in this simple, historically based account of Betsy Ward, who with her husband and three young children emigrated from Connecticut to the Ohio woodlands in 1803. An entry from a 19th-century record book is the impetus for the story, and Sanders fleshes out the characters and plot to create a memorable picture of a family's life in an isolated, draughty cabin with only ragged clothing to keep them from freezing. After shivering all winter long, Ward is able to buy eight sheep from a passing drover. Natural hazards decimate her little flock, but with each loss she shears the corpse, and spins and weaves the wool. Lambs are born, the flock increases, and the children are warm and comfortable at last. The patience and hard labor required of a farm family, the supreme importance of their livestock, the discomforts and disappointments they must endure, and the quiet satisfaction they achieve are clearly depicted in text and illustration. The handsome, expressive pictures are done in warm-toned watercolors and pencil and are rich in authentic detail. An unusual unity in format is achieved by a thin wash of color over the text page as well. Although the story is at times bleak, the golden tones of the illustrations impart a feeling of optimism for the future. The prose is vivid, suspenseful, precise, and well cadenced. --Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689822421
• ISBN-13: 978-0689822421
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,672,667 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Heart Warming Story!!, June 1, 2001

By	"thedehnes" (Southeast, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warm As Wool (Library Binding)

This story shares a tale of many living through hard winters in log cabins packed with mud. It shares the values of life and death, protection, and espically a mothers love. My children ask to read it over and over.