Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey

This book was originally written in 1948 when I was 2 years old. It was a Caldecott Honor winner. It is a cute book for early age children. This classic tale of Sal and her mother, picking blueberries to can for the winner. It is said that the mother and daughter were modeled after the author’s wife and daughter. It was originally in blue ink and now black.

In this book Blueberries for Sal, Sal drops her blueberries in her tin pail. She pulls them out and eats them, then begins collecting again. High on Blueberry Hill, deep in Maine, Sal and her mother head in opposite directions around a large bush.

Sal and her mother are not alone; a mother bear and her cub are also visiting Blueberry Hill, to prepare for winter by filling up with berries. They too head in opposite directions around a large bush.

Mother spots the cub, the mother bear spots Sal, but it has a happy ending. The encounter isn’t frightening to the characters, simply startling. The children are reunited with their own mothers, and they all go their own way.

Reviewed by a staff member, First Regional Library
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