Have you ever read Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey? It’s a charming picture book about a little girl named Sal who goes to pick blueberries with her mother and ends up finding more than berries! In the berry patch she comes across a mama bear and her cub, getting herself confused in the process!
As summer is more and more upon us, this award winning picture book about blueberry picking felt like just the right thing to discuss. July is perfect blueberry season, and I have been saving this post specifically for this month.
The Story and Illustrations
There is a charm to this book that truly offers a gentle and cozy sense of comfort to anyone reading it. The illustrations are beautifully simple and the writing has a lovely gentle tone. Together they make a story that is a genuine pleasure to read and impossible not to enjoy.
This is the kind of book that is perfect for sharing with someone while you read it. I can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon than curled up on the couch reading through this book. Then, after you’re done, you can always go on to enjoy an activity based off of the book.
Blueberry Themed Activities
Shortly after finishing the book it accrued to me how perfect this story is for inspiring activities after reading. I have always adored the idea of pairing good books with sweet memories, and this book is full of opportunities for that!
The obvious option would be to go blueberry picking. When I was little we used to go with my grandparents, and I have many memories of those hot and euxausting days filled with overgrown blueberry bushes and buckets that seemed to never fill up all of the way! It would be a very sweet memory to find somewhere to pick blueberries after reading about the adventures of Sal and her mother.
But if you don’t feel up for your own adventure outside in the heat you could always find something to make in the kitchen instead. Sal’s mother picks the berries to take home and can so that they will have food for the winter, but there are other yummy things you could bake if that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea. The possibilities are limitless. Blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie, blueberry jam, or warm blueberry muffins are all wonderful things you could make that link to the book!
Robert McCloskey’s Other Books
Robert McCloskey is the author of a handful of other children’s books, including two of my favorite picture books (Make Way for Ducklings, and One Morning in Maine), and a chapter book (Homer Price).
Both picture books have the same simplistic air of charm to them that Blueberries for Sal has. They are beautiful books to read aloud or merely sit quietly and enjoy alone. Homer Price has more of a humorous tone, which makes it a great book for young readers to read themselves.
Final Thoughts
Blueberries for Sal is one that both my mother and I remember fondly, which goes to show that it can be enjoyed by several ages. So no matter what stage of life you’re in, or who you have to read the book with, this book will be worth the time it takes to read.
For the Love of Stories 