One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey

Cole’s story follows a paper bag from its forest origins to a factory, to a boy’s kitchen table, and into adulthood. At first, the brown lunch sack bears a single red heart, crayoned on by the child’s father, in closely worked ink spreads. As the boy grows, the bag comes with him—it’s stuffed with sheet music as his guitar playing attracts the attention of a young woman with a guitar of her own. She adds another red heart to the sack; a page later, it’s witness to a marriage proposal. A baby arrives: a third heart. Years later, the bag’s final use involves saying goodbye to the new child’s grandfather with a sweet memorial. By elevating the life of an ephemeral object to the time scale of love across generations, Cole nudges readers to take a second look at the things they throw away. An author’s note describes how Earth Day prodded Cole to reuse the same paper lunch bag for years. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)