A Fuse8 Top 100 Picture Book titleĪbout the Author Robert McCloskey (1914-2003) wrote and illustrated some of the most honored and enduring children's books ever published. All the color and flavor of the sea and pine-covered Maine countryside.' Winner of A Caldecott Honor 'The adventures of a little girl and a baby bear while hunting for blueberries with their mothers one bright summer day. 'The adventures of a little girl and a baby bear while hunting for blueberries with their mothers one bright summer day. Meanwhile Sal's mother is being followed by a small bear with a big appetite for berries! Will each mother go home with the right little one? With its expressive line drawings and charming story, Blueberries for Sal has won readers' hearts since its first publication in 1948. But when Sal wanders to the other side of Blueberry Hill, she discovers a mama bear preparing for her own long winter. The end papers show Sal again playing in the kitchen while her mother cans berries.About the Book Little Sal and Little Bear both lose their mothers while eating blueberries and almost end up with the other's mother.īook Synopsis Caldecott Honor Book What happens when Sal and her mother meet a mother bear and her cub? A beloved classic is born! Kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk! Sal and her mother a picking blueberries to can for the winter. Just before leaving Sal drops a blueberry into her empty pail. Ultimately each child is reunited with its proper mother and they both leave the hill. It takes the mothers several minutes to realize they're being followed by the wrong child it isn't until the bear cub tries to eat from Sal's mother's bucket and the mother bear hears the 'ku-plink, ku-plank, ku-plunk' sound of Sal dropping blueberries into her tin pail that they realize what happened. Sal and the bear cub get mixed up and follow after the wrong mother. The bear's way of preparing for winter is more natural for Sal who soon wanders off to eat. Little Sal’s Mother tells her that they can’t eat all the berries because they need to save them to can for the winter, but the bear mother tells her child to eat as much as it can to store up fat for winter. Both families’ pictures are similar in compositions, but they head in opposite directions when they reach the blueberry patch. The book uses a number of visual and verbal techniques to compare and contrast the bear and the human families.

What they don't realize is that a mother bear and her cub have also come to Blueberry Hill to eat berries for the winter. This continues as she and her mother concentrate on the berries and gradually gets separated on the hill. Sal drops three berries in her bucket, and then eats them. Little Sal's Mother takes her to Blueberry Hill to pick berries.

Blueberries for sal by robert mccloskey