If You Want to Knit Some Mittens

Description

In this humorous picture book, a girl's desire to knit mittens leads to something even better- the warmth of friendship. How do you knit a pair of mittens? The first step is to get a sheep of course! In this playful story, a girl follows 18 steps to knit mittens--from bringing home a sheep to carding, spinning, and dyeing the wool to knitting the mittens. But along the way, her mischievous sheep creates chaos and wins her heart. By wintertime, the girl has sunny-yellow mittens, the sheep has a sunny-yellow hat, and together they're ready for adventure. This tale of patience, creativity, and friendship is knitted from skeins of humor and love.

Laura Purdie Salas is the author of more than 130 books for kids, including Bookspeak! Poems About Books (Minnesota Book Award, NCTE Notable, Bank Street Best Books, Eureka! Gold Medal, and more), Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School (Finalist, Minnesota Book Award), and In the Middle of the Night- Poems from a Wide-Awake House (NCTE Notable Poetry Book). Poetry and rhyming nonfiction books are her favorite things to write. Visit laurasalas.com. Angela Matteson is the illustrator of Grumbles from the Town and In the Middle of the Night. After graduating from the Columbus College of Art & Design, a love of pattern and design led her to work as a greeting card and gift-packaging designer. Her paintings have been shown in galleries, both locally in the Midwest and nationally. Visit angelamatteson.com.

"If you want to knit some mittens, our young pigtailed narrator says you've got to go to the source and get your very own sheep...Even the craftiest DIYer will be surprised at the lengths the kiddo goes to get the perfect golden material for their winter gear, but they'll be delighted by her woolly friend and the other farmyard animals that trail behind her as she sets about her task. Gentle humor... and the textured illustrations, painted with acrylics, gouache, and 'a touch of color pencil on wood board' are appropriately cozy and soft... (B)e sure to have out the knitting books in case viewers want to skip the livestock and get straight to the mitten making." -The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "In a picture book with a rural setting, a girl offers advice for kids who, like her, want to knit mittens...Salas' text sets a playful tone, and Matteson makes the most of it in the colorful, occasionally madcap illustrations. An appealing picture book about mitten making, with a good deal of merrymaking along the way." -Booklist "Colorful mittens require 18 steps of preparation, but they are a toasty warm reward...The sprightly, colorful illustrations portray a smiley kid and equally happy animal friends who sip drinks, jump rope, and go downhill skiing and sledding...An enjoyable crafty excursion." -Kirkus Reviews "A young girl wants to knit mittens, so needs to obtain a sheep, keep it comfortable over the winter, shear it, card the wool, spin the wool, grow flowers for dye, and eventually knit the mittens. A really fun story with vibrant illustrations. A fun addition to an elementary library, and a great gift to a child who wants to learn to knit-- I learned when I was four and would have LOVED this book." -Karen Yingling, Ms. Yingling Reads