A class learns to braid, first with hair and shoelaces, then with scraps of fabric brought from home. Sophie Blackall's picture book follows the braid as it grows into something the whole room makes together.
Readical Key Points
- A picture book for ages 4 to 6, preschool through grade 1
- By Sophie Blackall, winner of two Caldecott Medals, with pictures by Phoebe Wahl
- Starred review from Publishers Weekly; also reviewed in School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Horn Book Magazine and the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
- The back pages show readers how to braid a rag rug of their own
- Hardcover, 40 pages, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2026
Each scrap carries a story from the child who brought it, and more stories get told while the braiding goes on. As the braid lengthens, the students hatch a plan to turn it into a surprise for their teacher, and the adults step back while the children run the project. Wahl's pictures fill the classroom with the bustle and small details of a busy school day.
Parents, teachers and librarians can use it for story time, for a unit on making things by hand, or as the start of a class project of their own. The publisher calls it an instant national bestseller. Every scrap of fabric in it comes from home with a story attached.
About the Author and Illustrator
Sophie Blackall has won two Caldecott Medals, for Hello Lighthouse and for her illustrations in Finding Winnie, and she founded Milkwood, a Catskills retreat for creative work. Phoebe Wahl, an illustrator and surface designer whose work has won awards according to her publisher, studied at the Rhode Island School of Design; her own picture books include Sonya's Chickens and Little Witch Hazel.
Condition: Brand New and Readical Ready.
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