A “HOLE” LOT OF OPPORTUNITY!

Last month’s spotlight featured a character with attributes that truly were quite different from his peers’.  In this month’s story, PAULA’S PATCHES, a girl who believes her situation is unique discovers that her peers are much more like her than she’d imagined. Her growth in social awareness drives her to an altruistic initiative that builds her self-confidence.

Paula’s Patches
Gabriella Aldeman (Author)
Rocío Arreola Mendoza (Illustrator)
 
Free Spirit Publishing
July 11, 2023

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​Paula’s pants tear at the knee as she is arriving at school. Throughout the day, she does her best to cover the hole. During lessons, she rests a hand on her knee. During lunch, she keeps her tray on her lap. During recess, she ties a sweater around her waist so that it drapes over her legs. In doing so, Paula is trying to cover up much more.
 
Without directly saying so, the context makes it clear that Paula believes she is the only one in her class that relies on secondhand clothes. She won’t be able to get new pants…she must wait for the next hand-me-downs from her cousin. If no one sees the hole, her peers won’t laugh at her.
 
Alert to her classmates, lest they spot her subterfuge, Paula notices things. Zoila’s backpack is labeled, “Penelope.” Does Zoila need hand-me-downs, too? At lunch, spaghetti sauce spills all over George’s favorite shirt. What if he can’t replace it? When Libby shows Paula a blanket made from fabric scraps, the colorful, pretty patchwork gives Paula an idea…
 
At home, Paula finds her Mami’s bin of fabric scraps. She enlists Mami’s help to make all sorts of fabric patches. The next day, at Circle Time, Paula sets them out as gifts for her classmates. Everyone dives in, choosing decorations to cover holes, labels, and stains on their belongings. Everyone has something to mend, or a hand-me-down to re-style as their very own.
 
Paula’s new social awareness inspires empathy and positive, practical action. For readers intrigued by Paula’s patches, backmatter for “Fun with Fabric” provides instructions for making patches, bookmarks, and pouches.
 
A “hole” lot of opportunity, indeed!