The Warmest Blanket in the World

Written by Tamara Levine

Illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-410-8

24 pp.

Ages 6-8

February 2025 

 

While most of us are already thinking about the warmth of spring and summer, there will be many, particularly the elderly, for whom the change of seasons will not necessarily bring that which would warm their fingers and toes. For those with poorer circulation and other health issues, particularly those associated with aging, cold feet and hands can be problematic. And young Frida wishes she could do something to help her amazing great-grandmother Ama who says she feels like she lives in a refrigerator.

From The Warmest Blanket in the World, written by Tamara Levine, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Frida enjoys visiting her great-grandmother as much as the older woman relishes seeing the child, telling her each time, "Do you know you've made my day? You're one special kid!" Ama tells Frida stories about her life and the importance of women fighting for their rights. (Frida even attended a protest with Ama once.) They sing songs together and they snuggle under her blanket. But even that blanket doesn't keep Ama warm enough. So, Frida gets some advice from her mom, her grandmother and her aunt.

From The Warmest Blanket in the World, written by Tamara Levine, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Frida recalls what she'd learned of muskoxen which reminds her aunt, a knitter, of a mill in Nisku, Alberta where Tanis, an Inuk woman from NWT, prepares qiviut, the wool that comes from muskoxen. This wool is said to be the warmest in the world. 

From The Warmest Blanket in the World, written by Tamara Levine, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Frida writes Tanis and explains how much she loves her great-grandmother and how much Ama has done to make things better for girls and women. Now Frida wants to help her. The response she gets is far greater than some skeins of wool.

From The Warmest Blanket in the World, written by Tamara Levine, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

There are a lot of layers to Tamara Levine's story of The Warmest Blanket in the World. There is a sweet intergenerational relationship between Ama and Frida. There is a story of activism and doing good and supporting the rights of others, particularly women and girls. There is also a story of compassion and sharing. And there's the story of the muskoxen and how the Inuit have spun the wool of these Arctic animals into yarn and clothing. That's a lot of stories, and Ottawa's Tamara Levine weaves them all together in a story of family. This is more than a story of a blanket. It's about who needs what, who can help, and why we should help. 

Ellie Arscott, who illustrated the award-winning Night Walk, keeps the lightness of family and the warmth of a blanket and affection in her artwork, done in watercolour and ink. There is realism, when she depicts the muskoxen on the tundra and in the sepia images of suffragettes fighting for the right to vote. But there is a quaintness in the patterns of blankets and bed linens, in the calico cat and in the coziness of their homes. Ellie Arscott keeps it all bright and homey.

 

The Warmest Blanket in the World is a tender story of family and kindness. It's wrapped in qiviut and embedded with affection and humanity. It doesn't get any more warm-hearted than that.