cover image Flora's Blanket

Flora's Blanket

Debi Gliori, Gliori. Orchard, $15.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-531-30305-4

As she showed in previous books such as Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep and No Matter What, Gliori excels at conveying a warm and supportive family. Here she knowledgeably explores a toddler's attachment to her security blanket. Without her beloved carrot-patterned blanket, Flora Bunny can't sleep. Her five siblings generously offer their own as substitutes, but she insists, ""Want mine."" An exhaustive search of the house and grounds yields nothing. So Mom and Dad let Flora snuggle up in their bed, where, lo and behold, her father discovers the missing item under his pillow. The loving perseverance of Flora's parents and brothers and sisters, as they amble and scramble around the house in search of the blanket, dominate the spreads. And the family dynamic (one sibling in striped pajamas reads a book throughout the search; torsos and feet show under tables or are draped over chairs) will hit the funny bones of and strike a chord of recognition with any toddler or older sibling. Ages 3-6. (Apr.)