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My Two Blankets
Cartwheel has moved to a place that is so strange to her, she no longer feels like herself.
This is a story about new ways of speaking, new ways of living, new ways of being.
This is a story about new ways of speaking, new ways of living, new ways of being.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2014
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669 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 251 reviews
July 20, 2017
"My Two Blankets" is a beautifully crafted story that uses precisely chosen, evocative language with drawings that blend with the text in perfect harmony. Irena Kobald conveys messages of hope, friendship and acceptance through the eyes and actions of children. Her approach is devoid of saccharine sentimentality, a road she could have easily pursued. Instead, together with the artist, she delivers a heart-warming tale of how people can live together despite coming from the most diverse backgrounds: one of hardship, deprivation and want, the other a world of peace, abundance and prosperity. The metaphor of the blanket is original and impactful. This is the perfect picture book for your children.
July 9, 2015
A beautifully written and illustrated story realistically depicting the feelings of loneliness and cultural displacement of a recently arrived refugee girl and her joy at making a new friendship despite language barriers.
March 30, 2020
When a young girl, nicknamed Cartwheel by her aunt/guardian, moves from her war-torn African country to Australia in this moving picture-book examination of the refugee experience, she finds everything around her strange and discomforting. The language of her new country is especially distressing, surrounding her with a "waterfall" of sounds that make her feel cold and isolated. She takes comfort in a "blanket" of the familiar - in the colors and sounds of home. But then Cartwheel is approached by a friendly girl at the park, a girl who plays with her, and patiently teaches her new words. Slowly, Cartwheel begins to construct a new blanket, made from the sounds and experiences of her new world...
A beautiful book - conceptually, textually, aesthetically - My Two Blankets offers a poignant examination of the experience of newly arrived refugees (and of immigrants in general), concluding in a hopeful and uplifting way. I really appreciated the central metaphor that Irena Kobald - who makes her debut here - utilizes, as the idea of our native language and culture being a sort of security blanket for us is spot on, and is a notion with which younger children will be able to readily identify. I don't know if all children would be as persistent as Cartwheel's new friend - would they feel awkward approaching someone new? - but this story will encourage young readers and listeners to take a chance, even if the newcomer can't fully communicate with them at first. The story here touched my heart, but the artwork, done in a combination of oil and watercolor paint by the immensely talented Freya Blackwood, was also immensely appealing, capturing the emotional journey of the main character perfectly. This was no surprise, as Blackwood is one of my absolute favorites - her work on The Selkie and the Fisherman , sadly not available in the USA, was outstanding. In sum: an outstanding picture-book, one I would recommend wholeheartedly to anyone looking for children's stories about the refugee/immigrant experience, or about friendship across cultural and linguistic barriers.
A beautiful book - conceptually, textually, aesthetically - My Two Blankets offers a poignant examination of the experience of newly arrived refugees (and of immigrants in general), concluding in a hopeful and uplifting way. I really appreciated the central metaphor that Irena Kobald - who makes her debut here - utilizes, as the idea of our native language and culture being a sort of security blanket for us is spot on, and is a notion with which younger children will be able to readily identify. I don't know if all children would be as persistent as Cartwheel's new friend - would they feel awkward approaching someone new? - but this story will encourage young readers and listeners to take a chance, even if the newcomer can't fully communicate with them at first. The story here touched my heart, but the artwork, done in a combination of oil and watercolor paint by the immensely talented Freya Blackwood, was also immensely appealing, capturing the emotional journey of the main character perfectly. This was no surprise, as Blackwood is one of my absolute favorites - her work on The Selkie and the Fisherman , sadly not available in the USA, was outstanding. In sum: an outstanding picture-book, one I would recommend wholeheartedly to anyone looking for children's stories about the refugee/immigrant experience, or about friendship across cultural and linguistic barriers.
January 27, 2020
By Sue Thomson
My Two Blankets is an exceptional story that belongs in every school in Australia. The heartwarming and honest portrayal about Cartwheel and her trials, tribulations and joy in arriving in a new and totally alien country . Also what she has to endure, gives the reader a true insight into the world of someone new to the country....That someone is an innocent child...So lifelike and emotive, it bought tears and Cartwheel's journey remains with me... A perfect marriage of outstanding written words and wonderful illustrations...
My Two Blankets is an exceptional story that belongs in every school in Australia. The heartwarming and honest portrayal about Cartwheel and her trials, tribulations and joy in arriving in a new and totally alien country . Also what she has to endure, gives the reader a true insight into the world of someone new to the country....That someone is an innocent child...So lifelike and emotive, it bought tears and Cartwheel's journey remains with me... A perfect marriage of outstanding written words and wonderful illustrations...
April 23, 2022
Cartwheel arrives in a new strange land because of the war. Everything was different - the people, the places, the language, the smells, the sounds, and the foods. She felt as if she had lost herself and was saddened. At home wrapped in her old blanket, she felt safe. One day a friendly girl in the park began to play with her and introduced her to new words. The power of those words spun into a new blanket that comforted her. What a touching story of an immigrant child finding her place. The book was inspired by a friendship between Irena’s daughter and a Sudanese child.
December 29, 2015
Great story about learning a new language and a new culture. Lovely imagery, words and art.
March 28, 2017
A lovely story illustrating the refugee experience in a new Western country through a young girl's eyes.
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July 15, 2017This story is about a young girl named Cartwheel whom moves to a new land with her family. She has an extremely hard time making friends-- she dresses differently, looks differently, and there even is a language barrier that prohibits her from communicating; until one day. Though they may not speak the same language, a girl at the park waves, and Cartwheel waves back. They quickly become friends and the girl at the park begins to teach Cartwheel words through words and corresponding pictures. Her old blanket represents her old home. She begins to create a new 'blanket' with all the things that she is learning in her new home.
This book can be relative to children in the way that they too, are likely to have more than one 'blanket' as life goes on and they get older, many things might change in their lives. Many students have a difficult time making friends due to all sorts of reasons. This book is a great example of how and why you should be a friend to someone.
This book can be relative to children in the way that they too, are likely to have more than one 'blanket' as life goes on and they get older, many things might change in their lives. Many students have a difficult time making friends due to all sorts of reasons. This book is a great example of how and why you should be a friend to someone.
July 17, 2017
I loved how creative this story was! The idea of having two blankets, one representing Cartwheel's old memories, and the other being made from her new memories and words is such a unique way to display how refugees may feel when put in a new, unfamiliar place. This story showed how even small gestures, such as the one the little girl in the park gave to Cartwheel, can mean so much to a person, and help them be more comfortable in a place they may feel out of place. I think this book would be great to read to my future students!
July 13, 2017
Although the text is more simple, this story gives a great example to children on how they can help a refugee. This book could be used for an grade between 1st-5th for a read aloud. The easy flow of text allows students to pay more attention to the overall meaning of helping someone new and forming friendships.
January 22, 2024
This book is written from the perspective of an immigrant child feeling overwhelmed with all the changes to her world. My students connected with this story and felt empathy. The beautiful part was when she made her first friend and became more secure/settled.
August 29, 2016
Wat een prachtig, mooi, lief, fantastisch boek. Echt een aanrader.
March 1, 2018
I'm like 3 for 3 when it comes to reading picture books at work and getting overly emotional (or maybe just the right amount of emotional) about them.
February 17, 2023
I may have teared up the teensiest bit.
March 16, 2019
A moving story with powerful illustrations.
October 21, 2017
This book was about a girl who was forced to move because of the war. They came to America in search of safety. She didn't like it at first because she didn't know the language. Her home language was the blanket that provided comfort. Later, she meets a friend who helps build her vocabulary and teaches her new words, creating another blanket for her. As she learns new words, she soon finds comfort in knowing that she is safe even under a new blanket.
This story showed me just how many people come here in search of safety. It's hard for people of other cultures to adjust to a new lifestyle. Even for refugees, people think they're here to take advantage but these stories show that they were forced out of their own homes.
The book was interesting to read and can bring forth a lot of questions from children. Like what did all her symbols mean, or what were her blankets. It's age appropriate, it may be hard to understand on their own, but with adult guidance the story is very well explained. It includes a rich plot showing a problem and a solution. The language in the book is easy to read and understand for younger children. The characters look more realistic in some pages versus others. The illustrations are so bright and definitely enhance the story. It's interesting to see how the new words are represented by figures coming out of peoples' mouths. Its different but it can bring forth good conversation. This book does expose different cultural views and perspectives. There aren't any negative stereotypes and the lifestyles are genuine. There wasn't any actual speech from the girl's culture but the picture of her blanket had figures that represented her culture. Overall, I think this book can help children understand affects of war and what we can do when new people come into our country.
This story showed me just how many people come here in search of safety. It's hard for people of other cultures to adjust to a new lifestyle. Even for refugees, people think they're here to take advantage but these stories show that they were forced out of their own homes.
The book was interesting to read and can bring forth a lot of questions from children. Like what did all her symbols mean, or what were her blankets. It's age appropriate, it may be hard to understand on their own, but with adult guidance the story is very well explained. It includes a rich plot showing a problem and a solution. The language in the book is easy to read and understand for younger children. The characters look more realistic in some pages versus others. The illustrations are so bright and definitely enhance the story. It's interesting to see how the new words are represented by figures coming out of peoples' mouths. Its different but it can bring forth good conversation. This book does expose different cultural views and perspectives. There aren't any negative stereotypes and the lifestyles are genuine. There wasn't any actual speech from the girl's culture but the picture of her blanket had figures that represented her culture. Overall, I think this book can help children understand affects of war and what we can do when new people come into our country.
April 14, 2021
My Two Blankets was a wonderful story of immigration and support in a way we don't really think about too often. Through children. A young girl moves to America and feels cold and alone. The authors words along with the illustrators drawing and painting technique adds to the the touching and thoughtful feel you get from the girls' friendship. The watercolor feel I received from the illustrations reminded me of old books my grandma use to read me at night. This book lacks judgement and shame, and instead fosters difference and inclusion amongst children. A wonderful sliding door for any classroom. By the end of the book the reader may feel as warm as Cartwheel, I know I did!
April 20, 2017
A lovely book about a girl forced to leave her country because of war, learning to find a new place to belong. But the idea of the "blanket of words", though moving, is going to sail over the heads of most of the kids who use my library, and odds are, this book will sit quietly on my shelf. Meanwhile the two mediocre dinosaur themed picture books I also got today will be checked out repeatedly, unless some nanny allows her toddler charge to tear them to ribbons here at the library. Sad but true.
January 18, 2020
I enjoyed this. An ultimately positive look at what must be a very scary thing-moving to a country where you don't speak the language, don't have any friends. This little girl left her country due to war and came to America. Her blanket from home helps sooth and comfort her as she is scared and lonely, but eventually she starts making a friend and starts on a new blanket, one from her new home. Highlights how much the same we all are, no matter what we look like and how we dress.
January 20, 2022
This book was similar to "Home is In Between" and the way it ties in with #OwnVoices because the author wrote about a firsthand experience that she saw with her daughter. Her daughter made friends with a little girl who was from a different country. She watched her daughter and the little girl struggle to communicate at first, but she helped the girl to learn English and understand the new town that they moved to. I liked this book because it is touching to see young children help each other and not care whether they are different from one another.
January 11, 2018
Sweet story! There are some parts that don’t sit right with me, but I can’t yet articulate them.
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December 2, 2021Beautiful
October 18, 2021
Il nostro linguaggio cambia insieme a noi ed è noi
October 1, 2018
A beautiful book out of Australia, where it was the winner of the 2015 Children’s Book Council Award for Picture Books, and was shortlisted for the 2015 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children’s Books, My Two Blankets is a wonderful story about a young immigrant girl. She moves with her Auntie from their war-torn home, and finds herself in a strange new world where nothing makes sense. She finds herself retreating under the blanket of her home language and culture, but a new friend at the park begins to help her weave a new blanket with words and concepts of her new country.
This story is an excellent resource for any classroom with young children. The tale is presented in such a way that no single immigrant culture is specified, and so it can be inclusive for all language learners. The illustrations tie in the concepts of different words and sounds in an approachable manner for all levels of literacy, making it perfect for every student in the class. Additionally, it encourages understanding, patience, and compassion for language learners both from their peers and from the language learners themselves.
This story is an excellent resource for any classroom with young children. The tale is presented in such a way that no single immigrant culture is specified, and so it can be inclusive for all language learners. The illustrations tie in the concepts of different words and sounds in an approachable manner for all levels of literacy, making it perfect for every student in the class. Additionally, it encourages understanding, patience, and compassion for language learners both from their peers and from the language learners themselves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2023
German Title Translation: 'Home can be anywhere'
This was so easy to get into, although I was worried about the analogies made at first — I read this to my little brother, but it was clear and the illustrations were super helpful as well as inspiring too!
It tells the story of a little girl who had to flee her homeland due to war, and her journey of learning the new language is compared to making oneself a new blanket to get comfortable in, word for word, day by day.
Wholesome.
This was so easy to get into, although I was worried about the analogies made at first — I read this to my little brother, but it was clear and the illustrations were super helpful as well as inspiring too!
It tells the story of a little girl who had to flee her homeland due to war, and her journey of learning the new language is compared to making oneself a new blanket to get comfortable in, word for word, day by day.
Wholesome.
October 28, 2019
A story about immigration, friendship and hope. The beautifully crafted language in first person allows the reader to see the story through the eyes of the young girl who has had to move from her war torn country to England. The little girl who is named as ‘Cartwhell’ starts to learn English and has to fit in to this new culture which at first seems challenging, until she meets a new friend. The new friend begins to teach her new words in English. This book could be used as a discussion about refugees and immigration in KS2 perhaps, or even in KS1, it could be used to talk about friendships and feeling out of place. It is a great example to children of being a good friend to somebody else, who may look and seem different to you.
February 19, 2017
This book beautifully evokes culture shock and the experiences of immigrants and refugees. Great for kindergarten on up.
November 1, 2017
This is a story of a child named Cartwheel who just recently came to America after there was a war that broke out in her own country. She talks about how everything in this new country is strange to her including the people, food, animals, and the language. All these new experiences made her feel like she is under cold waterfall washing away at her true self. The only thing that could protect her was this blanket she had when she was in her homeland. It kept her warm and safe. Later she would go to the park and there would be this girl who seemed friendly to her but they did not speak the same language but found a way to communicate through play. After many encounters the girl brought cartwheel pictures and word so she could better understand the language. Cartwheel then began creating a new blanket with the new words. Soon she had 2 blankets she used interchangeably. She felt less of the waterfall and more like herself. I was glad she was able to learn more about this new country and pick up the language outside a school setting and that it was not an adult who helped her but rather another little girl. When I first red the book I thought it was going to be the auntie who helps her adjust but it turned out to be a stranger she met at the park. Realistically I don't ever see this happening in real life but I do like how the author made it different. I also like how she made a whole new blanket symbolizing her new home and how she was able to use both blankets. Cartwheel changed but at the same time she never lost her old self.
The illustration also caught my attention with the contrast of the warm and cool colors. The warm representing her old homeland and self and the cool colors representing everything new.
The illustration also caught my attention with the contrast of the warm and cool colors. The warm representing her old homeland and self and the cool colors representing everything new.
July 22, 2019
A beautiful book looking at someone moving to a new country and learning a new language.
October 12, 2015
"My Two Blankets" captures the reality of what many new immigrants face--the cold feeling of arriving somewhere where you experience nothing but loneliness. The story follows a young girl who flees her war-torn country, and arrives someplace new where she feels displaced and the only way she finds comfort is by embracing the blanket that she brought from her home. A language barrier contributes to the girl's feelings of loneliness until she one day finds a friend in a stranger who teaches her the words of her language. Gradually, the girl begins to weave a new blanket out of these words. Such a cute story! I think this book is excellent for children who find it difficult adjusting to a new lifestyle in a new country. It teaches them that it's possible to embrace new things without having to let go of who we are/our background. The language is very simple, making it an appropriate read for all ages, and the illustrations do an amazing job of depicting the essence of the girl's emotions and experiences.
"When I went out,it was like standing under a waterfall of strange sounds. The waterfall was cold. It made me feel alone. I felt like I wasn't me anymore."
"When I went out,it was like standing under a waterfall of strange sounds. The waterfall was cold. It made me feel alone. I felt like I wasn't me anymore."
Displaying 1 - 30 of 251 reviews