Overview

With three balls of wool and lots of ingenuity, this mother grapples with a difficult reality and sparks real change. In search of a freer place where every child can go to school, a family moves from Fascist Portugal to Communist Czechoslovakia. Different as this new country is, however, it is far from ideal. In this new, gray world, the lack of freedom is felt in the simplest things, such as the colors one can and cannot wear.

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9781592702206

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Reviews

A 2018 Skipping Stones Honor Award Winner This wonderful book demonstrates the strength of the human spirit, even under governmental repression. --Skipping Stones Loosely inspired by the experiences of real families fleeing dictatorship only to find continued oppression under Communism, this modern fable presents a hopeful twist by showing how art can inspire hope and change. The first person narration is direct, balancing a child's understanding with the heavy topic. . . . [The illustrations] create lovely cohesion between plot and art. VERDICT: A good choice to provoke discussion about freedom and oppression with older readers. --School Library Journal One day, the mother launches a quiet rebellion against the tyranny of homogeneity and conformity--an embodiment of artist Ben Shahn's insistence that without the nonconformist, any society of whatever degree of perfection must fall into decay. It starts with a grey sweater she unravels into a ball of yarn, then an orange one, then a green one. Out of these three balls of wool, she begins knitting sweaters of all stripes and patterns, remixing the solid givens into previously unimagined possibilities. [...] Three Balls of Wool, which is absolutely lovely both as a picture-book and as a symbolic cultural message, comes from Enchanted Lion Books --Maria Popova, Brain Pickings While not as harrowing as many contemporary stories, this timely title gently introduces the trauma of exile to young readers and can lead to discussions and, hopefully, a better understanding of being uprooted. Kono's graphic designs on pale gray paper artfully capture the drabness of the new city and the varied patterns of the sweaters. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is included. A timely story of refugees and the strength of individuality over conformity. --Kirkus Reviews Narrated by an eight-year-old child, a family moves from 1960s Fascist Portugal to Communist Czechoslovakia in search of a better future. But the new country is far from ideal. Graphic designs on pale gray paper capture the darkness of the new city. The buildings are gray boxes and everyone wears monotone, orange, green, or gray sweaters knit in the same pattern. The mother unravels the sweaters and mixes the colors and stitches, knitting different bold checks, zigzags, and stripes. --OmniLibros

While not as harrowing as many contemporary stories, this timely title gently introduces the trauma of exile to young readers and can lead to discussions and, hopefully, a better understanding of being uprooted. Kono's graphic designs on pale gray paper artfully capture the drabness of the new city and the varied patterns of the sweaters. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is included. A timely story of refugees and the strength of individuality over conformity. --Kirkus Reviews Loosely inspired by the experiences of real families fleeing dictatorship only to find continued oppression under Communism, this modern fable presents a hopeful twist by showing how art can inspire hope and change. The first person narration is direct, balancing a child's understanding with the heavy topic. . . . [The illustrations] create lovely cohesion between plot and art. VERDICT: A good choice to provoke discussion about freedom and oppression with older readers. --School Library Journal

Narrated by an eight-year-old child, a family moves from 1960s Fascist Portugal to Communist Czechoslovakia in search of a better future. But the new country is far from ideal. Graphic designs on pale gray paper capture the darkness of the new city. The buildings are gray boxes and everyone wears monotone, orange, green, or gray sweaters knit in the same pattern. The mother unravels the sweaters and mixes the colors and stitches, knitting different bold checks, zigzags, and stripes. --OmniLibros While not as harrowing as many contemporary stories, this timely title gently introduces the trauma of exile to young readers and can lead to discussions and, hopefully, a better understanding of being uprooted. Kono's graphic designs on pale gray paper artfully capture the drabness of the new city and the varied patterns of the sweaters. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is included. A timely story of refugees and the strength of individuality over conformity. --Kirkus Reviews Loosely inspired by the experiences of real families fleeing dictatorship only to find continued oppression under Communism, this modern fable presents a hopeful twist by showing how art can inspire hope and change. The first person narration is direct, balancing a child's understanding with the heavy topic. . . . [The illustrations] create lovely cohesion between plot and art. VERDICT: A good choice to provoke discussion about freedom and oppression with older readers. --School Library Journal

While not as harrowing as many contemporary stories, this timely title gently introduces the trauma of exile to young readers and can lead to discussions and, hopefully, a better understanding of being uprooted. Kono's graphic designs on pale gray paper artfully capture the drabness of the new city and the varied patterns of the sweaters. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is included. A timely story of refugees and the strength of individuality over conformity. --Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Henriqueta Cristina was born in 1960 in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, into a family with many brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, cousins and stories (families are places that are full of stories). She graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Porto University and has been a teacher for over 30 years. Yara Kono was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1972.She started making her first drawings on the wall of the sitting room. Her mother, who at first was not too pleased, finally gave in to the ""artistic talents"" of her daughter. From wall to paper, from paper to the computer the years have gone by. Lyn Miller-Lachmann is the translator of The World in a Second and Lines, Squiggles, Letters, Words, and the author of the young adult novels Rogue, Gringolandia, and Surviving Santiago. She lives in New York City and spends part of each year in Lisbon. She blogs about Portugal, cultural diversity, and writing at lynmillerlachmann.com.

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