little blue book in my bag

Here's a good picture book-Pelle's New Suit, by Elsa Beskow; perhaps you can imagine the story line from the picture on the cover: Pelle, a little Swedish boy, had a lamb of his own-the lamb grew, Pelle grew, the lamb's coat grew longer but Pelle's coat only grew shorter! So one day Pelle took the sheers and cut off all the lamb's wool. . .

Then he took the wool to his grandmother, "Granny dear, please card this wool for me!" Of course this good grandmother cheerfully agreed and she also gave Pelle a job, "that I will do my dear if you will pull the weeds in my carrot patch!" (I would be that kind of grandmother who plants carrots and pulls weeds!)

Then Pelle went to the other grandmother, "Grandmother, please spin this wool into yarn for me!" the other grandmother gladly agreed to help her sweet boy AND she gave him a job to do, "if while I am spinning, you will tend my cows." (oh, to be this grandmother with a great bundle of keys on her belt, unlocking secret rooms and treasure boxes. . .)

So, the story clips along. . . dying the wool blue, weaving the cloth, sewing the suit, and for each one who helps in the process, Pelle, in turn, completes the requested job.

I love the story, the illustrations, the memory of hearing it as a child and reading it to my children. I remember a library copy, rectangular with large pictures; so when I ordered the book for my grandchildren on Amazon.com, I was disappointed to discover that the new edition is very small and the pictures, sometimes two to a page have been reduced considerably. I'd prefer the older edition!

Hmmm. . .I love the grandmother part in Pelle's New Suit- how the grandmothers both shared in the suit making endeavor. And so it is in my world-I share grandmothering with my friend Martha; how we dearly love our sweet grand girls (and the tiny lad we're about to meet)-and I think we bring a bit of variety to the role. . .Amaleah says that I am the knitting grandmother and Martha is the sewing grandmother-nice, don't you think?