When Laura goes to bed each night, she loves to hear the story of the Star Blanket. The story begins on the day Dad's baby sister was baptized when he was a little boy, and the family drove in the old green DeSoto down to Saint James Church. Afterwards, when presents were being opened, Laura's dad realized there weren't any for him. But Gram quietly handed him a special package wrapped in tissue: the Star Blanket. Each white star on the deep blue, hand-made blanket represented a family member. Before Christmas, Laura's dad had to learn the names for each star, forty-one in all. As a grown-up, he teaches his own daughter to say good-night to all the relatives on the Star Blanket along with him.