A FAR-FETCHED STORY

Grandmother knows a long, hard winter is coming and she wants one more armful of firewood. One at a time, she sends the family—son, daughter, mother, father, and baby—out, but they each come back without any wood and their clothing shredded, unraveled, or clawed. Each one claims to have been attached by a creature: “I barely escaped with my life!” To which Grandmother retorts, “That’s a far-fetched story,” and tosses the ragged item into the empty wood box. A rush of cold air prompts her to start a fire with the rags, but the cloth colors and the softness of the fabrics are so comforting that instead she reaches for needles and scissors, creating the solution for the cold winter: a “far-fetched” story quilt. Like a real quilt, this book is layered, with a satisfying story on top, good padding of pacing, rhythm, and humor in the middle, and a backing that ties the whole together, which is the actual stitching of wonderfully creative fabric and thread illustrations. A note from Carpenter (Fannie in the Kitchen, p. 410, etc.) explains that she transferred drawings and ironed them onto white linen and used colored thread to define and add details. An original tale just waiting to be told, the coloration and patterns in paisleys and plaids piece together this cozy and fetching story, one that is a delightful fabrication. (Picture book. 4-8)