A Sack Full of Feathers.

Linda Ludke is a children’s librarian at the London Public Library.

In this retelling of a Jewish folktale, a young boy with a penchant for spreading rumours is shown the error of his ways. Rabbi observes Yankel eavesdropping in the village store and then rushing to share the half-truths with his friends. The wise elder gives Yankel a bag of feathers and instructs him to put one on every doorstep. When the child returns, he is told to retrieve the feathers. Daunted by the impossibility of the task, Yankel returns empty-handed. Rabbi then imparts a lesson on the nature of gossip: “Once you tell a story, you cannot take it back. It goes where it goes and you cannot say where or how or when.”

Cindy Revell’s richly coloured acrylic paintings have an Old World charm and capture the closeness of the community. A flowing, jewel-toned, patchwork scarf often frames the text. The pages are also enlivened by feathers scattered throughout. Recommended.