May 2016

The Jacket  |  Kirsten Hall

How about a little fun?

The Jacket is the story of a plain little book on a bookstore shelf who fears no one will ever buy him. To his delight, a little girl comes along and falls in love. Deep in her arms, he is carried home and all is well until he meets his nemesis: Egg Cream the dog!  The little book is jealous and so is Egg Cream. Will the little girl have enough love to share between a beloved book and a special dog? And so this pretty little picture book begins. 

Who could have predicted that the little book would be snatched away by the dog who buries him in the mud!  What can be done to a muddy little book to make him right again?  With a little thought and creativity, the girl finds the solution.  She makes the book a lovely new book cover. 

If that was not enough fun, the actual book looks the same as the book in the story, with a little face and all. It even comes with a book jacket with holes cut out for the eyes. The story ends with instructions on how to make your own book jacket.  Did I tell you this book was fun?

When I was a little girl, we were asked to take our school books home and cover them.  Who covers books these days?  The Jacket makes me want to sit down and make beautiful covers for my favorite books. Maybe your children would want to make covers for their books too?