A Gift of Feathers

by Ken Schept, Romina Galotta (Illustrator)

Overview

A picture book by Ken Schept and illustrated by Romina Galotta about the power of remembrance and intergenerational tradition.

When she finds a feather, Grandma Dot adds it to her collection. Feathers, she tells her two granddaughters, remind Grandma Dot of people she’s lost. At first, the girls see the feathers as fun to play with. But soon, Grandma Dot’s feathers take on larger meanings – of comfort, remembrance, and love.

This affectionate, hopeful story will inspire readers of all ages to make memories and traditions part of their own family stories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250838049
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	01/10/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	792,519
Product dimensions:	9.55(w) x 9.45(h) x 0.45(d)
Lexile:	AD840L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Ken Schept, a father and grandfather, wrote A Gift of Feathers, his debut children's book, following a successful career as a journalist and business writer. He received his MFA from Columbia University, and lives with his wife in Hoboken, NJ, where he now writes children’s books and literary fiction.

Romina Galotta is an illustrator, ardent animal lover, passionate foodie, and world traveler. She is also the artist for The Biggest Thing of All (Trigger/Upside Down).. She currently lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Editorial Reviews

03/20/2023

Found feathers become a source of solace for two siblings following the death of their beloved grandmother in this remembrance-focused picture book. Via reminiscing first-person prose by Schept, Talula recounts the last visits that Talula and younger sister Rhea had with “small in size” Grandma Dot, who always greeted them with a snuggle and exclaimed, “So delicious!” Time at Grandma Dot’s city apartment meant viewing the vases of special feathers that she collected as an act of memorial—“Every time I find a feather, I think about my parents watching over me,” she says. When Grandma Dot dies, Talula recounts the pale-skinned, Jewish family’s experience mourning and reveals the special way that she and Rhea remember their grandmother with feathers of their own. Galotta’s ink, watercolor, and colored pencil art balances playful scenes of Grandma Dot and her family with grayscale images that convey a thoughtful, somber tone. An author’s note concludes. Ages 3–6. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"This spe­cial pic­ture book is filled with warmth and wis­dom. It may help chil­dren process their grief and teach them to make their own tra­di­tions dur­ing hard times. From the sweet and detailed illus­tra­tions of the two sis­ters and their grandmother’s feath­er col­lec­tion, to the author’s final note about his own expe­ri­ence with his mother’s death and a jar of feath­ers, read­ers will find great com­fort in this book dur­ing times of need."--Jewish Book Council

"Found feathers become a source of solace for two siblings following the death of their beloved grandmother in this remembrance-focused picture book. ...Time at Grandma Dot’s apartment meant viewing the vases of special feathers that she collected as an act of memorial—“Every time I find a feather, I think about my parents watching over me,” she says. When Grandma Dot dies, Talula recounts the family’s experience mourning and reveals the special way that she and Rhea remember their grandmother with feathers of their own. Galotta’s ink, watercolor, and colored pencil art balances playful scenes of Grandma Dot and her family with grayscale images that convey a thoughtful, somber tone." —Publishers Weekly

"Though the narrative presents Jewish ways of mourning, both Jewish and non-Jewish readers can relate to the central concept of honoring those we cherish through our memories." —Sydney Taylor Schmooze

From the Publisher

2022-09-28
Two young girls grieve their grandmother.

Talula and her little sister, Rhea, love visiting Grandma Dot, who lives in a city two hours away from them. The girls talk to their grandmother about her ever growing collection of feathers and then play a game that involves putting all 99 of them—the same number of years as Grandma Dot has lived—in some kind of order. The elderly woman dies before her 100th birthday, so the last part of the story goes through her funeral, with "some prayers in Hebrew that I didn’t understand.” After the funeral, at home, the girls find two feathers that remind them of their grandmother and bring them to the yearly yahrzeit (a Jewish mourning custom explained in the author’s note). Written in a tone that feels like a much older person recalling memories of childhood experiences and emotions, this is a meandering but straightforward tale about a White-presenting Jewish family, with similarly straightforward illustrations, describing a realistic slice of life that may be calming to some but boring to others. This story could help some children contextualize their grief after losing a grandparent, but otherwise it has limited appeal. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A direct, quiet tale of loss likely to resonate with kids grappling with grief but few others. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews