Bea Reviews Maya's Blanket/La Manta de Maya by Monica Brown, Illustrated by David Diaz

Publisher: Children's Book Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 15, 2015
Challenges: May 2015 Clean Sweep ARC Challenge |  NetGalley and Edelweiss ARCs
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Little Maya has a special blanket that Grandma stitched with her own two hands. As Maya grows, her blanket becomes worn and frayed, so with Grandma s help, Maya makes it into a dress. Over time the dress is made into a skirt, a shawl, a scarf, a hair ribbon, and finally, a bookmark. Each item has special, magical, meaning for Maya; it animates her adventures, protects her, or helps her in some way. But when Maya loses her bookmark, she preserves her memories by creating a book about her adventures and love of these items. When Maya grows up, she shares her book Maya s Blanket/La manta de Maya with her own little daughter while snuggled under her own special blanket. Inspired by the traditional Yiddish folk song Hob Ikh Mir a Mantl ( I Had a Little Coat ), this delightful bilingual picture book puts a child-focused, Latino spin on the tale of an item that is made into smaller and smaller items. Maya s Blanket/La manta de Maya charmingly brings to life this celebration creativity, recycling, and enduring family love." 

Bea's Thoughts:

Oh, what I delightful book! Years ago, I read a book inspired by the Yiddish story, I Had A Little Coat and enjoyed it so when I saw this, I wanted to read it. I love that the author has updated it and put a new spin on it. It works quite well as a contemporary story about a young Hispanic girl.

As you know if you've spent time with very young children, they can become quite attached to their blankets or blankies. I've had a few in my classes over the years who lovingly held onto a ragged scrap that used to be a precious blankie. Therefore, children will have no trouble relating to the story and should enjoy it. Most will also be able to relate to Maya's relationship with her grandmother who helps her continually transform her beloved blanket into new beloved items. The story is sweet, tender, and charming. We see Maya grow up over the years until she becomes a mother and the cycle continues.

Every illustration has two pages of text, one in English and one in Spanish. The vocabulary is not simplistic but tells the story clearly. The English pages have a few Spanish words sprinkled in, which was a nice touch. If you don't read or speak Spanish the book won't help as there's no pronunciation guide though there is a glossary for some of the Spanish words. The pictures themselves have the look of watercolors and the colors are both soothing and cheerful.

"Maya's Blanket" is sweet, lovely, charming, heartwarming, and fun to read.