Blanket & Bear, a Remarkable Pair

June 10, 2013
When a blanket and teddy bear are separated from their beloved owner, they turn into a questing duo: the bear, an indomitable Odysseus, braving the elements and even resisting the pull of an island of “lost blankets and bears,/ living in retirement,/ without worries or cares,” while the blanket serves as a sail, tent, parachute, and source of warmth. When the remarkable pair finally does find the boy, he’s “so grown-up! so tall!” with a new focus for his affection: sports and girls. A happy ending that sends the two back to the island (“No longer owned,/ free to do as they wish”) keeps this bittersweet story from falling into the downer camp. Kelly, a debut author (and grandson of Roald Dahl), writes austere, emotionally blunt rhymes (“they were no longer needed./ Their time was now through”) that, when combined with Tanaka’s (One Moon, Two Cats) velvety but highly formal acrylic illustrations, keep the book’s more playful fantasy elements in check. On the spectrum of stories about the inner lives of playthings, this is more Velveteen Rabbit than Toy Story. Ages 3–5. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

June 15, 2013
Where do old toys and blankets go? Their own private island, it seems. In gentle, rhyming verse, a blanket and a bear are presented to a baby boy who takes to them instantly. When the previously inseparable threesome are separated during an ocean voyage, the boy is bereft. Meanwhile, the blanket and bear set off to find their owner, discovering instead a land where lost objects like them enjoy the island life. In a twist some won't see coming, the blanket and bear initially reject the lost-toy paradise, only to return to it when it is clear that their human really has outgrown them. It ends, "Now think for a minute / of the toys you once knew. / Are they now on that island, / telling stories of you?" Evidently meaning to soothe fretful children who've been separated from their best beloved objects, Kelly's text, his debut, is quite effective. Tanaka's artistic style, on the other hand, only really takes off when blanket and bear are on their own, and the humans, painted with heavy-lidded doe eyes, are little more than a distant memory. Only then do the soft acrylics soar, as capable in their depictions of sun-drenched landscapes as they are in those of the threadbare, split seams of a much-loved toy's backside. Despite the touch-and-go artwork, the book can offer copious comfort to children with the suggestion that their closest childhood friends have found second lives elsewhere. (Picture book. 4-8)

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December 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 1-Kelly gives lost possessions a new life in his first book. At first, the stuffed brown bear and the fuzzy white blanket are loved by a boy. They keep him company and give him a sense of security. When they are separated on a voyage, each longs to find the other. As time passes, though, the bear realizes the boy has new interests (baseball and friends) and he decides to make a new home on the Island of Lost Blankets and Bears. In this land, toys pass the time by playing and telling stories about their former owners. Tanaka's paintings are almost otherworldly. The bears have human personalities and behaviors, and the scenery appears covered in a misty light. The message is heartfelt and it may comfort children who are missing their favorite toys.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2013
Preschool-G There are countless picture books about misplaced toys, but this one reveals a little-known secret: where toys go when they're lost. A boy and a bear and a blanket are inseparable, ever since the boy's birthuntil one day, bear and blanket are left behind on a ship. The boy is beside himself, but the bear and blanket, in a dreamlike sequence, sail off to an island / of lost blankets and bears, / living in retirement, / without worries or cares. Although the bear king tells the duo to forget the boy, they don't listen, setting off to search, presumably for many years. When they find him, he's older and doing just fine. This is a poignant story of growing up and letting go (think The Velveteen Rabbit), both for boys and toys. The rhyming text feels somewhat at odds with the magical quality of the soft acrylic illustrations, which are nostalgic in feel and at their best when it's just bear and blanket on the page. Still, it's reassuring, isn't it? To imagine an old friend surrounded by pals?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)