One “cold little afternoon, in a cold little town,” Annabelle finds a way to warm her town when she finds a box full of yarn and she decides to knit sweaters for everyone and everything. Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Balzer + Bray, 2012) is a magical book, with a hint of intrigue and mystery.
Annabelle’s talent for knitting brings a change to her small town, and when an evil duke hears about that mysterious box of yarn, he arranges to steal it. Will Annabelle’s town ever be the same? I love the mixed media approach (although I’m not certain just how the illustrations were made). The yarn is bright and colorful. The rest of the illustrations are dark pen illustrations. As Annabelle knits, color comes in to the town. And (this is a spoiler) there is happiness in the end. I can’t think of anything that should be different about this book: it is simply wonderful.
Kid thoughts (age 5): “It was a nice silly book.”
Caldecott Honor 2013
