RODICA'S RED SCARF

A scarf given as a gift offers a far greater sense of caring and connection than the giver ever imagined in Clarkson’s debut picture book.

In Florida, a knitter named Jo finishes a long red scarf. Even though she labors on it with love, she feels that it’s a humble gift. Preparing her offering, she tosses chocolate kisses in along with the scarf, wraps the box beautifully, and places a bright golden bow on top. After a month of travel, Jo’s box, along with a number of other gifts she’s collected, arrives in Romania. A young girl named Rodica receives Jo’s package. She’s excited to have something beautiful; with her family, she places the bow on a shelf of the house and carefully unwraps the present. The scarf, which Jo had found so humble, becomes an object of great significance for the family. The children wrap it around their hands when they sleep in a shared bed; they swaddle a sick baby in it as he recovers. The scarf acts as a flag, saving Rodica’s father’s life when a mine collapses, and as a banner to scare away birds from the collective fields. Finally, it becomes Rodica’s pillow, always reminding her of the love someone shared from across the world. (“To this very day, when Rodica lays her head upon the red scarf she thanks God for the someone, somewhere, who made the scarf that showed they cared.”) The story memorably demonstrates how valuable a small-seeming thing might be to the person who receives it. Young readers are likely to have questions about Rodica’s impoverished living conditions, and the book’s opening note offers some context about the communist regime of Romania in the 1980s. By using mainly black-and-white ink, with only a few colors as accents, Leander’s illustrations emphasize the importance of the shiny bow and the red scarf as bright spots in an otherwise bleak landscape. Some images are repeated with only small details changed, demarcating shifts in the story and the scarf’s importance very effectively. The tale celebrates an attitude of gratitude that children might do well to emulate.

A strong story about how small acts can affect others in a big way.