Weaving
the Rainbow, by George Ella Lyon, is poetry dressed up as narrative
nonfiction. Stephanie Anderson’s gorgeous watercolors illuminate the intimate transformation
of raw fleece into a tapestry. Students of all ages will gain a new
appreciation for the art and craft of handmade fiber art after reading this beautiful
book.
On the
first page, we meet a woman—"the weaver”. It’s spring, and she’s standing
by a fenced-in field; “the weaver sees rainbow sheep grazing in her pasture.” What
we see are sheep cloaked in woolly white. Last summer, the weaver’s lambs won blue
ribbons at the state fair. When leaves of
gold, brown, and red fell in autumn, they were sheared. They grew a second coat
to warm them through the winter.
Anderson’s vivid illustrations show us how this white
wool becomes multicolored yarn. And we begin to comprehend the title, Weaving
the Rainbow. The weaver is planning
to weave “a picture, doing with wool what a painter does with paint.” Weavers
of all ages will love the detailed two-page spreads that show this short, instructional
story.
This story is read online by School Gardens.
My Picture Book Talk for this story is here.
