If You Want to Knit Some Mittens

Illustrated by Angela Matteson
Look inside
Hardcover
$17.99 US
| $23.99 CAN
On sale Oct 26, 2021 | 32 Pages | 9781629795645
Age 4-8 years | Preschool - 3
Reading Level: Lexile AD460L | Fountas & Pinnell M
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.
"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
Laura Purdie Salas is the author of more than 125 books for children, including If You Were the Moon, the award winning Can Be . . . series, and BookSpeak! Poems About Books, which was an NCTE Notable Book of Poetry and won the Nerdy Book Award for Poetry, among other honors. She lives with her family in Plymouth, Minnesota. Visit her at laurasalas.com. View titles by Laura Purdie Salas
Angela Matteson is a children's book illustrator and a designer of greeting cards and gift packaging. Her paintings have been shown in galleries, both locally and nationally. This is her first picture book. She lives in Columbus, Ohio. angelamatteson.com View titles by Angela Matteson

About

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.

Reviews

"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

Author

Laura Purdie Salas is the author of more than 125 books for children, including If You Were the Moon, the award winning Can Be . . . series, and BookSpeak! Poems About Books, which was an NCTE Notable Book of Poetry and won the Nerdy Book Award for Poetry, among other honors. She lives with her family in Plymouth, Minnesota. Visit her at laurasalas.com. View titles by Laura Purdie Salas
Angela Matteson is a children's book illustrator and a designer of greeting cards and gift packaging. Her paintings have been shown in galleries, both locally and nationally. This is her first picture book. She lives in Columbus, Ohio. angelamatteson.com View titles by Angela Matteson