Review - The Promise Basket

The Promise Basket
by Bill Richardson
illustrated by Slavka Kolesar
Date: 2019
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

A stone when it’s thrown can damage, can break,
but nothing can shatter the promise I make.

So begins the poem a mother writes on a scrap of paper. She wraps the paper around a stone and places it in a basket to give to her daughter on her first birthday. They are poor, but the mother is determined that gifts will be given when gifts need giving. She keeps her promise, and the Promise Basket, too.

Every time there is a need for gifts, the mother finds a pretty stone to tie up with paper and ribbon, and gives it to her daughter in the basket. She continues the tradition over the years until her daughter has a baby of her own…

The love between a mother and her daughter is celebrated in this lyrical story from Bill Richardson, featuring colorful illustrations by Slavka Kolesar.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I'm not sure if kids are going to like this one. It seems more like something aimed at parents (particularly mothers). The writing is lovely, the illustrations are nice, and the message is heartwarming... but a part of me can't get past the idea of giving a choking hazard as a birthday present.

When a poor mother needs a present for her daughter's first birthday, she finds an old basket and a shiny pink stone. She writes a promise to her child, and gives it--along with the basket and stone--as a birthday gift. As the years go by, more stones and promises are added, until at last the tradition comes full circle when the daughter grows up and has a child of her own.

I think if this had been marketed as a picture book for adults, I would've liked it a bit more than I did. As it is, though, I don't like the fact that the book seems to be teaching that small stones are appropriate gifts for babies (who tend to put everything in their mouths).

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.33 out of 5