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Jo Ellen Bogart
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Gifts Hardcover – January 1, 1996

by Jo Ellen Bogart (Author), Barbara Reid (Illustrator)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
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A whimsical introduction to faraway lands and cultures is told from the perspective of a young girl, whose adventurous grandmother brings her back such treasures as an African baobab seed, an Australian didgeridoo, and a Hawaiian rainbow.
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  1. Reading age
    2 - 4 years
  2. Print length
    44 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Lexile measure
    490L
  5. Dimensions
    8.25 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
  6. Publisher
    Scholastic
  7. Publication date
    January 1, 1996
  8. ISBN-10
    0590552600
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0590552608
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2?Another glorious, globe-trotting grannie joins the ranks of elderly travelers. Unlike Jill Paton Walsh's When Grandma Came (Viking, 1992), Bogart's Grandma is a happy soul who offers to bring back "gifts." As she heads off to nine very different locales, she asks, "What would you have me bring?" Her granddaughter's exquisitely fanciful replies presented in rhyme celebrate the imagination: a piece of sky, a roar, billabong goo, a memory, a rainbow to wear as a ring, etc. Reid's wonderful plasticine illustrations, with touches of acrylic for shine, seem so three-dimensional that they beg to be touched. The wealth of texture, depth, and detail is sure to mesmerize even the most jaded eye. The colors are scrumptious. The loving relationship between grandma and granddaughter as each ages is tenderly captured in hugs, smiles, and subtle physical changes. Perhaps this traveler doesn't carpet a town with lupines like Barbara Cooney's Miss Rumphius (Viking, 1982), nor is she as rambunctiously silly as the character in Grahame Base's My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch (Abrams, 1990), but Gifts is a treasure to read alone, aloud, to a group, or to give to anyone who loves the unique.?Jody McCoy, Casady School, Oklahoma City
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Lively plasticine bas-reliefs depict scenes of another traveling grandmother (see Blackstone review, above) and the gifts she brings to her granddaughter from around the world. Bogart offers rhyming questions and answers: ``My grandma went to Switzerland,/said: `What would you have me bring?' `Just a chunk of cheese/and a mountain, please,/and a bell that goes ding-a-ling-ling.' '' As the grandmother proceeds through her journeys, she grows older while her granddaughter grows up; the exotic settings include India, Africa, Australia, Mexico, and the Arctic. Reid's now-familiar technique has grown steadily more inventive and these illustrations are astonishing. Whether in large, detailed landscapes or dramatic close-ups, the book contains a wealth of plastic effects, from the soft folds and textures of the grandmother's clothes to the sparkling bubbles of a foamy sea. The lyrical and lighthearted rhymes never convey the exuberance of the art but advance the story nicely by providing a sequence of cues for the pictures. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic (January 1, 1996)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 44 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0590552600
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0590552608
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 2 - 4 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 490L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.25 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

About the author

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Jo Ellen Bogart

Jo Ellen Bogart

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Jo Ellen was born in Houston, Texas and spent her formative years in various cities of that state. At the University of Texas in Austin, she received degrees in elementary education and psychology. She moved to Guelph, Ontario in 1975 and worked as a supply teacher for several years, enjoying especially her experiences in school libraries. Jo Ellen has two grown children, a son and a daughter.

A real animal lover, Jo Ellen has had many interesting pets over the years, including Peruvian parrotlets, a coatimundi,and an Argentine tortoise. Current pets include Wendell the Border Collie, a huge koi, goldfish, and a ton of very colorful guppies.

Jo Ellen also loves reading, gardening, swimming, web surfing, and playing with two wonderful grandchildren. She has really enjoyed opportunities to visit and speak to children in many parts of Canada and likes to hear from her readers.

Jo Ellen loves the interplay of art and words in picture books and has written many. She likes to write about nature, numbers, art, and science. She loves fireflies, the northern lights and shooting stars, enjoying the research and learning involved. Her love of art led her to write biographies of two of Canada's best-loved female artists, Emily Carr and Maud Lewis.

A pair of books about four furry friends, THE BIG TREE GANG and OUT AND ABOUT WITH THE BIG TREE GANG, the latter of which was co-written with Jo Ellen's daughter, Jill Bogart, was aimed at early elementary readers. Jo Ellen's 2009 picture book from Tundra Books, entitled BIG AND SMALL, ROOM FOR ALL, was nominated for the Lane Anderson Award for science writing for young readers, a great honor for the book of beautiful illustrations and very few words.

After years of writing song lyrics, Jo Ellen met singer-songwriter/guitarist Eddie Douglas and formed a songwriting team that added six of her songs to Eddie's Juno nominated CD, GONNA KEEP DANCING. A new album soon to be released, SLEEPY SKY LULLABY, will feature more of Jo Ellen's lyrics and some songs co-written with Eddie.

Jo Ellen is very happy to have had her book GIFTS, illustrated in plasticene by Barbara Reid,chosen as the TD Grade One Giveaway book for 2011. It will be given free to each grade one student in Canada next fall.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
28 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Carol Simon Levin
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book of intergenerational friendship and imagination
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
A grandmother travels the world bringing back gifts both real and fanciful in this lovely rhyming story illustrated with three dimensional pictures created from plasticine clay. The child grows to a young woman and the grandmother gets more frail until the last page shows the child grown up with a child of her own traveling the world and concludes "and everything she shared with me I'm going to share with you."
I sometimes use it in my "gifts and giving" storytimes: carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/12/school-age-storytime-gifts-and-giving.html
2 people found this helpful
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Tl1234
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2015
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Thank you
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Katrina23
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best!!!
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2017
This book is one of the best I have read. I read to my daughter all the time, and I got this from the library, so I had to order it. It is amazing, the artwork is beautiful, and the traveling in it left me emotional. A+
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Spark
5.0 out of 5 stars Cover doesn't do this book justice
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2016
This books is awesomely illustrated with claymation and follows grandma as she travels across the world. The language is beautiful, her granddaughter grows up from page to page until she has inherited granny's travel backpack with the patches from around the world to share with her toddler. When granny asks "what shall I bring you?" the little girl asks for something non-materialistic (a smell, a breeze), which granny manages to fulfill in a very satisfying way.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars because it is a great home library or classroom addition---great
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2014
Been looking for this out of print book, because it is a great home library or classroom addition---great artwork
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Windy City Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful for All Ages
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2000
This book was Great! My mother bought it for me as a "Gift", (I collect Barbara Reid Books-I'm a clay artist as well), I found the book to be artistically perfect and the story captivating. Another book well done by Barbara Reid!
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jp
4.0 out of 5 stars Great content, a little disappointed in the format
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2012
I bought this book because we checked it out of our local library and just loved it. It really does bang on all cylinders -- the artwork, the poetry, and subject matter and lesson...
Unfortunately, the book we got from Amazon was not quite the same as the one we experienced at the library. It was smaller, reduced by maybe 25%, and just didn't seem to be as nicely published. Thinner paper and covers, and so on. I'm glad to have it in my collection, but still a little wistful at what I remembered of it originally.
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Linda
4.0 out of 5 stars Our Gramma travels too
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2004
We were introduced to this book and now need one of our own. The tune is lovely, and I recommend getting tape to learn it. Our Gramma travels the world too, and when we read the book it seems to be about her. We are going to make up new verses for other places she has traveled, but it will be hard to match the wonderful rhymes in this book.
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Top reviews from other countries

WanderingWendy
5.0 out of 5 stars Travelling Grammee!
Reviewed in Canada on August 12, 2015
Verified Purchase
As a travelling Grandma this book not only endeared my heart but also my grandson who asks for it to be read each time he sleeps over. There is an adult subplot too
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Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on January 5, 2018
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Great book and fabulous illustrations.
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Client d'Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on January 28, 2017
Verified Purchase
Excellent book with beautiful images. Kids love it!
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Sharon Clayton
5.0 out of 5 stars Gifts
Reviewed in Canada on July 31, 2012
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I was thrilled to discover that this book is in mint condition, and was signed by Barbara Reid, my favourite illustrator of children's books. I won't be lending this copy to anyone, in case it doesn't come back!
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