Story Rug by Sophie Blackall and Phoebe Wahl
Story Rug by Sophie Blackall and Phoebe Wahl
Story Rug by Sophie Blackall and Phoebe Wahl
Story Rug by Sophie Blackall and Phoebe Wahl
Story Rug by Sophie Blackall and Phoebe Wahl
Story Rug by Sophie Blackall and Phoebe Wahl

Story Rug by Sophie Blackall and Phoebe Wahl

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Ages: 4–6 years

This is a pre-order item and will ship late-July 2026. 

From two-time Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall and beloved artist Phoebe Wahl comes a luminous book that braids together the joy of storytelling with the satisfaction of learning a new craft.

The children of Class 203 are learning to braid. They started with hair and shoelaces, and now the children have brought rags from home. Their braid gets longer and longer until one idea transforms it into an extraordinary surprise for their teacher.

Here is the story of a rag rug, woven through with the stories of the scraps used to create it and those told during its making. The result is a special handmade spot where the whole class can gather, ready for more stories.

This beguiling celebration of storytelling is woven through with an easy-to-learn and impressive craft project, including instructions, will have readers reaching for scraps to make their own rag rug.

Number of Pages – 40
Format – Hardcover
Process – Printed in Full-Color
Publication Date – July 14, 2026

Sophie Blackall, AM is an award-winning illustrator of over 50 books for children, including the New York Times best-selling Ivy and Bean series, the 2016 Caldecott Medal winner, Finding Winnie and the 2019 Caldecott Medal winner, Hello Lighthouse, which she also wrote. She is the five-time recipient of The New York Times Best Illustrated Picture Book Award and has worked with UNICEF and Save the Children, UK on global health and literacy initiatives.

Originally from Australia, she now splits her time between Brooklyn, New York, and the Catskill Mountains, where she and her husband run a retreat for the children’s book community called Milkwood Farm.

Phoebe Wahl is an award-winning children’s book author, illustrator, and surface designer, whose work focuses on themes of comfort, fantasy, and intimacy with nature and one another. She grew up unschooled in Washington state and credits her free-range childhood in the Northwest for much of her inspiration and values.

Phoebe's first children’s book, Sonya’s Chickens was the recipient of the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for New Illustrator, and her most recent picture book, Little Witch Hazel was an Indie Bestseller, Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Title, as well as being named one of the Best Books of 2021 by BookPage, BookRiot, Booklist and the Chicago Public Library. Her other titles include The Blue House, Backyard Fairies, Paper Mice (written by Megan Wagner-Lloyd) and illustrated YA novel Phoebe’s Diary (Little, Brown 2023).

Phoebe graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2013 with a BFA in illustration.

Phoebe lives in Bellingham, Washington with her family and two rambunctious cats.

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About the Artist

Phoebe Wahl

Phoebe Wahl is an award-winning children’s book author, illustrator, and surface designer, whose work focuses on themes of comfort, fantasy, and intimacy with nature and one another. She grew up unschooled in Washington state and credits her free-range childhood in the Northwest for much of her inspiration and values.

Phoebe's first children’s book, Sonya’s Chickens was the recipient of the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for New Illustrator, and her most recent picture book, Little Witch Hazel was an Indie Bestseller, Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Title, as well as being named one of the Best Books of 2021 by BookPage, BookRiot, Booklist and the Chicago Public Library. Her other titles include The Blue House, Backyard Fairies, Paper Mice (written by Megan Wagner-Lloyd) and illustrated YA novel Phoebe’s Diary (Little, Brown 2023).

Photo by Holly Stevens

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