Blanket

A heartwarming story about the power of a cozy blanket and a good friend, Ruth Ohi’s first wordless picture book Blanket is a comfortable, cuddle up story.

It’s a beautiful day but Cat wakes up in a gloomy grey mood. They just want to hide away in the comfort of their cozy blanket. When Dog shows up with a flashlight and kindness, he helps Cat shake the darkness away.

The wonderful thing about a wordless book is that the story can change an evolve each time it is accessed by the reader. Perhaps it starts as a story told by an adult reader and then changes as young readers themselves pick it up and lead their own narrative. Ruth Ohi’s welcoming illustrations provide readers with comfort even on their saddest day. 

Ruth Ohi knows that children can sometimes feel sad and there are a million and one reasons for the sadness. Maybe their favourite shirt is in the wash, maybe the birds were chirping too loud or maybe something hard is happening at home that is hard to put into words. Through this wordless picture book, Cat’s reason for sadness is up to the reader's imagination, centering the reader and allowing them to have an opportunity to process their own feelings.  

Dog is a great friend. Through Dog, readers have a guide, an inspiration to help them when they have a friend who needs a loving ear and a little fun. Each time Dog leaves the blanket fort they return with something new to help cheer up Cat. Again, the reader decides what is happening between Cat and Dog and what Dog is saying and doing to help their friend, just like they do.

Wordless picture books are fantastic tools to use with pre-readers, especially preschoolers who sometimes just want to sit quietly with a book. I see it everyday at a preschool so having wordless options for readers allows them to enjoy the illustrations and create their own stories. They can also provide inspiration for older readers and writers to use the wordless story as a jumping off point to their own storytelling.

Blanket is a beautiful story about feelings and friendship for young readers of all ages.