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Maya's Blanket/ La manta de Maya

By Monica Brown
Illustrated by David Diaz

Hardcover: $19.95

Ebook

Little Maya has a special blanket that Grandma stitched with her own two hands. As Maya grows, her blanket becomes worn and frayed, so with Grandma’s help, Maya makes it into a dress. Over time the dress is made into a skirt, a shawl, a scarf, a hair ribbon, and finally, a bookmark. Each item has special, magical, meaning for Maya; it animates her adventures, protects her, or helps her in some way. But when Maya loses her bookmark, she preserves her memories by creating a book about her adventures and love of these items. When Maya grows up, she shares her book—Maya’s Blanket - La manta de Maya—with her own little daughter while snuggled under her own special blanket.

Inspired by the traditional Yiddish folk song “Hob Ikh Mir a Mantl” (“I Had a Little Coat”), this delightful bilingual story puts a child-focused, Latino spin on the tale of an item that is made into smaller and smaller items. Maya’s Blanket/La manta de Maya charmingly brings to life this celebration creativity, recycling, and enduring family love.

Here's a great post from Spanish Playground on using Maya's Blanket - La Manta de Maya with Spanish Language Learners.

Building Connections with Monica Brown
Books and Authors: Talking with Monica Brown.
Maya's Blanket - Video Book Review
 

About the Creators

Thumb_monica_brown_2019 Monica Brown - Author

MONICA BROWN has written twenty acclaimed picture books, including the Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor-winning Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match, as well as the Lola Levine and Sarai chapter book series. Most of her stories are inspired by her desire to bring diverse stories to children and by her own mixed heritage, which includes Peruvian, Scottish, Spanish, Amerindian, and Jewish ancestry. When not writing for children, Brown serves as a professor of English at Northern Arizona University, where she teaches about US Latino and multicultural literature. Brown lives with her family in Flagstaff, Arizona. Her website is monicabrown.net.

Photo: Jake Hoyungowa

Thumb_thumb David Diaz

won the Caldecott Medal in 1995 for Smoky Night. He is the illustrator of many other popular children's books as well, including December, Roadrunner's Dance, Going Home, and Wilma Unlimited. Diaz is also an accomplished potter, and he has sold his work to collectors throughout the country. He lives in Carlsbad, California.