Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

With a supply of yarn that never runs out, Annabelle knits for everyone and everything in town until an evil archduke decides he wants the yarn for himself.

I love this little book. (I knit, so of course.) It's a charming little story and the illustrations are excellent.

When the toddler has a book called “Extra Yarn” for her summer reading program, it's pretty easy to say mommy picked it out. Loved that Annabelle was a little yarn bomber. The rest of the story was a little odd to me. My little gal sat and listened and enjoyed looking at the pictures though.

I agree with the Caldecott committee, the illustrations on this book are innovative, elegant and an absolute pleasure to the eyes. The story was mostly good. The first part was enchanting, seeing this girl cover her city with yarn. But then...

Why does the writer have to introduce a bad male character? Can we have a great story without a bully? It would have been so much better to explore how the main character learns to live without yarn, or learn to feel content with what she has and what she has already made. I would cut the last third of this book, and it would make such a better tale.

Read and reviewed: 2018-10-23