Loose Threads
Loose Threads
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Publisher's Hardcover ©2024--
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Enchanted Lion
Annotation: An intrepid girl discovers the value of the tangled, knotty side of life in Loose Threads, a picture book inspired by a ... more
 
Reviews: 1
Catalog Number: #387211
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Publisher: Enchanted Lion
Copyright Date: 2024
Edition Date: 2024 Release Date: 06/25/24
ISBN: 1-592-70392-5
ISBN 13: 978-1-592-70392-0
Dewey: E
Language: English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews

In this tale translated from Spanish, a young girl's decision to mend holes leading to a mysterious world has unintended consequences.Leilah is always losing her belongings-her scarf, her umbrella, her keys (three times!). Mama chides Leilah for not being more careful, but Leilah can explain. Existing alongside Leilah's beautiful, orderly village is another, chaotic world called the Other Side. It's an enigmatic place accessible only through dreams, with "landscapes full of knots" and bizarre creatures. Things disappear through holes to the Other Side, Leilah tells Mama, and if she could only mend them, nothing would ever disappear again. Although sewing up the holes prevents objects from falling through, Leilah also inadvertently creates a smokelike fog that stifles both worlds. Undoing her stitches, Leilah receives an unexpected gift and promises Mama to find another way to keep track of her possessions. Inspired by a traditional hand-embroidered shawl that she received on a visit to Palestine, Isol's eye-catching, unique illustrations feature photographs of its patterns; the outward-facing side is the backdrop to Leilah's village, while the reverse sets the scene for the Other Side. Earth-toned, woven fabrics in tans and greens sometimes serve as backgrounds but are also snipped into pieces onto which characters are drawn, providing contrast to the predominantly black and red scarf. Isol concludes this clever, playful tale with an epilogue vindicating Leilah. Characters have skin the color of the page.Whimsical and imaginative. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-9)

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Kirkus Reviews
Reading Level: 2.0
Interest Level: 2-5

An intrepid girl discovers the value of the tangled, knotty side of life in Loose Threads, a picture book inspired by a Palestinian scarf, from Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner Isol.

Translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel

A Bookstagang Best of 2024 Picture Book Selection, Future Classic!
One of Evanston Public Library’s “101 Great Books for Kids List of 2024”!


Leilah lives in an idyllic village, where everything has its place. It’s as beautiful and perfect as the scenes in her grandmother’s embroidery. But some believe that just on the flipside of this orderly village lies the Other Side—a messy and wild world, filled with merry inhabitants and strange beasts. Leilah often visits just such a place in her dreams.

Leilah is constantly losing things, and when her mom demands an explanation, Leilah decides that her lost possessions must be falling down into the Other Side. And so, she declares that all she has to do to fix things is mend the holes between her world and the Other Side. It’s a genius idea—nothing will ever go missing again! But as Leilah soon learns, some holes don’t need sewing up, and mending can also mean a suffocating shutting out…

Inspired by one of her favorite scarves, here Isol spins a tale that celebrates the different worlds that are all part of life’s rich tapestry.


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