I have always loved making things with paper, fabric, or through drawing. I was taught needlepoint and crochet by my grandmother when I was young. Unfortunately, I didn’t practice this much and don’t really know how anymore. As I got older, I wanted to learn how to knit and do a bit more than basic sewing by hand. I am still learning, and I love seeing how people create using fabric and yarn. This has crept into books I write and illustrate and also the books I like reading!
Little Owl loves doing sums, eating ice cream, and riding his scooter. These are some of his favorite things about him. He has his favorite colors of him, too. And orange isn't one of them. So when Mummy knits a scarf as a surprise Little Owl knows that he definitely doesn't like it. It's itchy, long, and far too orange. After losing his scarf at the zoo, Mummy realizes that perhaps Little Owl should be involved in the choice and creation of a replacement. Her instincts of her are proved absolutely right. But whatever did happen to the orange scarf? Its fate is hinted at in this deftly-told humorous tale! A warm and witty yarn from the creator of Small Bunny's Blue Blanket, praised by The Telegraph as "deceptively simple and decidedly sweet."
Extra Yarn is one of my very favourite books. It is the story about what you might do if you found a little bit of extra yarn. This yarn (in both senses of the word!) is inclusive, unexpected, as well as completely fantastic.
The text of the story is subtle and leaves a lot of the story to be told through the illustrations and I am a huge fan of Jon Klassen’s illustrations. In this book, his beautiful, colourful wool really works to offset the darkness of the cold winter landscape.
This is simply a visually delightful and clever story with lots for kids and adults to enjoy.
From bestselling and award-winning author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen comes Extra Yarn, a Caldecott Honor Book, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner, and a New York Times bestseller. A young girl and her box of magical yarn transform a community in this stunning picture book. With spare, gently humorous illustrations and a palette that moves from black-and-white to a range of color, this modern fairy tale has the feel of a new classic.
As someone who came to knitting later in life, I really appreciate this comprehensive guide for younger knitters.
The book includes an illustrated vocabulary list of the basic tools, information on where to go for help if there is no one to ask directly ( I find that very helpful!) and a guide for buying wool online.
There are also several basic projects to get started with and even a washing guide! Perfect.
Through 15 easy projects, from bouncy bean bags to a rolled edge sweater, Melanie Falick teaches kids of all ages how to knit. Using straigtforward language, easy to follow photos and step-by-step instructions, beginners learn the basics, including finger knitting, casting on and off, the knit, purl and stocking stitch, knitting in the round, and shaping. Kids can have fun creating things they can actually wear or use, and it's an activity they can share with parents and friends. Projects include: bookmarks, backpacks, bracelets, hats, socks and scarves.
The Story Blanket is about what you might do if there wasn’t enough yarn.
Babba Zarrah loves to tell stories to the village children who all sit on her story blanket to listen. As the winter goes on and a need for warm clothes becomes greater, Babba Zarrah’s blanket begins to get smaller.
The solution to the disappearing story blanket completes the cycle of generosity within the village.
The story, a modern folk tale, is simple and beautiful. The illustrations, by Elena Odriozola, are gorgeous and original and bring an added imaginative dimension to the book.
Babba Zarrah has a beautiful woollen sitting blanket, which the children sit on to listen to her stories. Babba Zarrah always says that 'every question has an answer', and when she realises the villagers need new clothes, Babba Zarrah begins to unravel her blanket in secret to make them. She makes so many surprises that soon there is no more blanket to sit on. But when the villagers discover Babba Zarrah's secret, they decide to give Babba Zarrah a surprise in return...
What happens when an unknown and unexpected relative comes to visit?
Lester is a unique character who is visited by his equally unique Cousin Clara. Cousin Clara seems perfectly fine until Lester discovers how good she is at knitting dreadful sweaters.
After a series of unfortunate events befall the itchy creations, Lester and Clara discover there is a place for everyone (and every dreadful sweater).
I enjoyed the story, which I am sure many can relate to, and the illustrations (also by KG Campbell) are hilarious. A great story about dealing with unwanted gifts!
A fastidious fellow, Lester likes everything just so. So when Cousin Clara moves in and knits him truly dreadful sweaters as fast as he can surreptitiously dispose of them, Lester must think of a way to get rid of them for good — or be doomed to look like a clown forever.
I used to play lots of string games as a kid. I realized as my kids were growing up, that kids don’t know these games anymore and I wanted to find something that would teach them at least a few that I remembered from my childhood.
I loved this book because it shows, with simple diagrams, some of the basic string games like Cat’s Cradle and it also includes string to get started with.
Not only that, there is a little history of string games for those who might want to know how they all started.
Neuroscience PhD student Frankie Conner has finally gotten her life together—she’s determined to discover the cause of her depression and find a cure for herself and everyone like her. But the first day of her program, she meets a group of talking animals who have an urgent message they refuse to share. And while the animals may not have Frankie’s exalted human brain, they know things she doesn’t, like what happened before she was adopted.
To prove she’s sane, Frankie investigates her forgotten past and conducts clandestine experiments. But just when she uncovers the truth, she has to make an impossible choice: betray the animals she’s fallen in love with—or give up her last chance at success and everything she thought she knew.
Frankie Conner, first-year graduate student at UC Berkeley, is finally getting her life together. After multiple failures and several false starts, she's found her calling: become a neuroscientist, discover the cause of her depression and anxiety, and hopefully find a cure for herself and everyone like her.
But her first day of the program, Frankie meets a mysterious group of talking animals who claim to have an urgent message for her. The problem is, they're not willing to share it. Not yet. Not until she's ready.
While Frankie's new friends may not have her highly evolved, state-of-the-art, exalted human brain,…
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