Ida and the Wool Smugglers

Jean Free, a library consultant, was an elementary-school teacher and
librarian in Whitby, Ontario.

Ida lives on a farm on the Gulf Islands off the west coast of Canada.
Her neighbors have just had a baby, and her mother asks her to take a
gift of bread to them, since she is not big enough to help with the farm
work. On the way, Ida manages to protect her favorite sheep and its new
lambs from the wool smugglers. She is commended for her bravery and for
saving the sheep. She even gets the special treat of holding her
neighbors’ new baby.

This book is about growing up and accepting responsibility, and about a
young girl’s ingenuity in pioneer Canada. Its delicate watercolor
illustrations, by distinguished Canadian artist Ann Blades, are a
gorgeous extension of Alderson’s elegant prose. Blade’s double-page
painting perfectly captures the loneliness and magnitude of the forest,
while her soft, refined sketches of the farm kitchen visually
demonstrate the family closeness of an early Canadian home.

This is a beautiful picture book for preschool or primary children. It
will also be useful for elementary students’ units on pioneers,
clothing, or growing up.