When you’re a quilt ghost instead of one under a sheet, you can go outside in any season.
At times, when you venture outside, your batting gets caught in branches. Meanwhile, your lightweight friends find the cool weather gives them a chill, not a thrill.
That’s what the Little Ghost Quilt discovers in the pages of a new children’s book by Riel Nason, a quilter in New Brunswick. The Little Ghost Quilt’s Winter Surprise, a heart-warming tale of friendship, will go on sale on Aug. 26.
It sells for $18.99. And we have one copy to give away!
The Little Ghost Quilt’s second adventure
This story follows up on Riel’s initial children’s book – The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt from 2020. In its pages, readers discovered how he gets out in the cold while his friends under sheets only stay inside.
“His heavy fabric layers…slowed him down but kept him cozy and comfortable in the cold,” Riel writes. “And sometimes, the falling snowflakes made his squares look polka-dotted.”
While they do crafts and read boooooks, he learns about shared experiences from humans. In this sequel, the main character sees how people brighten up winter with Christmas celebrations.
Inspired, he decides to host a gathering for his friends. It comes with its challenges but the Little Ghost Quilt perseveres!
Like all quilters, Riel digs in the idea of scavenging odds and ends. In the end, her ghost creates a “boo-tiful” work of art with the help of friends.
The story is well-paced. Its illustrations of the patchwork pal by Byron Eggenschwiler of Calgary make it even more endearing.
It begins with an introduction for those who have not yet met this cheery ghost. After the discovery of dazzling Christmas lights, the ghost finds himself tossed about by a blizzard.
How he gets free and turns the experience into a plus reflects a lesson in resilience – even if it stretches his seams and pulls on his binding.
The author wrote this with children ages three to seven in mind. With 30 pages with text, this book would better suit a child with a longer attention than a Dr. Suess bedtime time. It speaks to friendship, yet independence if they want to go off on an adventure on their own.
Riel Nason created this quilt as an homage to the character she created for her children’s book The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt.
Meet the writer behind The Little Ghost Quilt
Riel Nason is a novelist and quilter living in Quispamsis, New Brunswick. Her original quilts reflect her humour, whimsy and bold use of colour.
As a writer, she earned the Commonwealth Book Prize for Canada and Europe for The Town That Drowned, her debut novel. She also won the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award.
Her debut picture book, The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt, turned into a bestseller. That prompted her to write a second installment.
Her colleague, Byron, has illustrated for the New York Times, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, GQ and other publications. He also created the visual of the quilt ghost for Riel’s first edition.
He has drawn images for several books, such Operatic, Coyote Tales and The Strangest Thing in the Sea. For this edition, he combined pencil sketches with digital techniques.
The book was published by Tundra Press, a division of Penguin Random House of Canada. Its sister company in New York put it out at the same time.
How to win a copy of this Ghost Quilt’s story
Penguin Random House has donated a copy of this book to share with one lucky quilter who also loves a good story.
For a chance to win our copy, email Lois.Tuffin@CanadianQuilterAdministration.com with your name and address. A random draw will pick the winner on Friday, Aug. 15.
We look forward to seeing who is interested. Best of luck!
