Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Quilt Makers Journey
Illustrator: Gail de Marcken
Picture Book
For ages 4 and up
Scholastic, 2005 ISBN: 978-0439512190
Once there was a girl who lived in a town which was surrounded by a high wall. Within the wall the people lived happily, they had all the good things that made life comfortable, they did not experience any hardship. In the town there was a girl who was immensely rich, who wore gorgeous clothes and who had a party in her lavish home every night. And yet, even though she had everything she wanted, the girl was not happy. She could not help feeling that something was missing from her life and that there was something that she should be doing which was worthwhile and important.
Then came the day when the girl decided to see what lay beyond the wall that surrounded her town. As a child she had been told that terrible things lay in the world outside and yet the girl still wanted to know what really lay beyond the high wall. So, she went through a tunnel which went under the wall and what she found beyond the wall horrified her. For the first time the girl saw poverty, she saw people who did not have enough to eat and who lived in houses that were ramshackle and old. The girl saw misery, suffering and unhappiness. And yet, in this world so full of pain, the girl discovered that when she did have something to give, it felt wonderful to share what little she had with others.
The girl went back to the town where she grew up and tried to convince the town elders that they should all help the poor people who lived outside the wall but they were unsympathetic and would not listen to what she had to say. The girl had to choose between her old life and the world outside and she chose the latter, accepting a life of poverty.
In time the girl discovers what she can give to those in need and she begins a life full of the joy of giving and sharing.
This wonderful book written and illustrated by the creators of "The Quiltmaker’s Gift" is both beautiful to look at and moving to read. We are reminded that riches alone cannot make a person happy if they have no purpose in their life and that giving to others can truly be a gift in itself, for making others happy gives great joy to the giver.
This book will give great pleasure to lovers of "The Quiltmakers Gift" for it explains how the quiltmaker found her cause and how she came to be living on the hill making quilts in the first place.
