11th June World Wide Knit in Public Day.

World Wide Knit in Public Day was started in 2005 by Danielle Landes. It originated as a way for knitters to come together and enjoy each other's company.

Knitting is not only for grannies. It is a beneficial hobby, and it improves your mental, emotional and physical health.

It is surprising how many children's picture books feature knitting. Even if it isn't central to the story, there is often a character knitting in the pictures. Betsy Bird has made a point of studying these picture book knitters to make sure they are holding the knitting needles correctly. The article also gives examples of books that include knitting that you may not have explored.

In the past children used to love learning to knit, doing French or finger knitting and making pompoms, but in the current crowded curriculum crafts like these are no longer school activities, so when I do a display of 'knitting' or 'craft' books they are not as popular as they once were. 

For more picture books with knitting see this Pinterest.

6th December Mitten Tree Day

 

Mitten Tree Day celebrates the gift of warmth. It's a day to collect mittens, hang them on a Christmas tree, and then hand them out to those in need. Those who live in cold climates understand the necessity of mittens. This winter clothing item is essential for keeping the hands warm while outdoors. It may be cold in the Northern Hemisphere but it is getting quite hot here and everyone is looking forward to the end of school and the summer holidays.

This post would be more relevant in July here, so I have filed away a note to self, celebrate mittens in winter next year because we have quite a few books which feature mittens.

Two favourite mitten stories  spring to mind immediately, Three Little Kittens  who have lost their mittens and the Ukranian folktale, The Mitten where a number of animals seek shelter in a mitten they find in the snow.

Other books to look for in the library:

10th June Worldwide Knit in Public Day

Worldwide Knit in Public Day is celebrated on the second Saturday of June every year. The objective of the holiday is to showcase knitting as an enjoyable activity to partake in — for all ages, not just doting grandparents looking to make a sweater for their darling grandchildren. The day brings with it a sense of community for knitters, who often celebrate together by knitting in public spaces to make their hobby more visible and accessible to the public. It’s also a day for experienced knitters to teach others how to knit. Worldwide Knit in Public Day was founded in 2005 by knitting enthusiast Danielle Landes whose goal was to get all the closeted knitters out into the fresh air. It remains the world’s largest knitting event. Coincidently it is also Yarn Bombing Day on this day or the 11th June depending where you read.Yarn bombing is simply the practice of knitted works of art being added to public places. For example, a yarn bomber may design some sort of colourful knitted pattern and wrap it around a tree. The aim of this practice is to try and take knitting from something that is viewed as merely for creating clothes and hats to something that could add meaning and colour to urban locations.

Knitting happens to be one of the oldest ways of making clothes. The earliest known accounts of knitting date it back to — at least — fifth-century Egypt. Egyptians used to knit cotton fibers, not wool.

Knitted weatherproof sweaters for sailors became relatively common in the 14th century. The advent of the Industrial Revolution brought with it the automation of tasks — knitting was no different. Knitting machines began being used to knit hosiery for the elite. A local knitting industry slowly emerged in Scotland, which began the production of knitted stockings for circulation across Europe. The first knitting loom was built in 1816, and the first ever woolen textile factory was opened in 1856 by Eugene Rodier.

How to celebrate these days? Knit! In public! If not, read about knitting. You will be surprised by how many picture books for children feature knitting. Even when the book is not overtly about knitting, a character will be knitting, showing readers that lots of people knit for a hobby.

As a person who can knit, I always notice the knitters in books, but I must say since I read Betsy Bird's article about knitters in books, I am looking at those knitters anew. She says that this book, Knitting For Dogs shows that the writer illustrator, Laurel Molk is definitely a knitter because she has the needles positioned correctly and we see the fingers and the wool clearly. Not all of the books featured here will do that, but that doesn't mean they're not worth reading.

There are nonfiction books designed to teach children to knit, but they are no replacement for a patient adult or older child,  a pair of thick needles and some thickish wool. A person can show you how to hold the needles and get your hands working together with the wool. Start with a scarf. It happens fast! Be inspired by Little Owl's Orange Scarf. We suggest a toy owl in the library needs an orange scarf. What a challenge?

Others to look for:

Now I'm off to knit in public! I'll sit in a park, gets some fresh air and see who joins me.

7th May Jumper Weather

Sweater Day is on February 4, because in America, people are getting ready to snuggle into their warmest sweaters in the depth of winter. The World Wildlife Fund (W.W.F.) established Sweater Day and advocates it every year. The circle of life means human depletion of natural resources negatively impacts animal wellbeing and their habitats. Consumption of fuel pollutes the environment and water, endangering the lives of animals. Changing our little habits can make a difference.

I'm not sure we have an equivalent, like Jumper Day in Australia, but as I walked this week in Orange with my sister and today, with a friend in Sydney, it most definitely was a jumper or sweater day! A couple of weeks ago we were basking in warm sunshine sans jumper.

Why so many names for what is a  type of knitted garment that is worn over the upper body? Americans call them 'sweaters'. As you might have guessed, sweater comes from sweat—the earliest sweaters were worn by rowers, and were intended "to produce sweating and reduce weight."

Australians and Brits call them 'jumpers'. The word is derived from an old French word, “jupe" which was a type of short coat. At some point in time the word in English became “jump" and then eventually “jumper".

Of course there are other names for various versions of overgarment designed to keep us warm. There is jersey, cardigan, sloppy joe ...

Sadly there is no gazetted Jumper Day. There is however a Christmas Jumper Day in Britain on 8th December, once again in the Northern Hemisphere's winter. It was instigated by the Save the Children Fund in 2012 to raise money.

At school during Autumn it is fun to watch the leaves on the trees outside the library windows change colour. We often do a display of Autumn books and as it gets colder and the trees are bare we begin to think about a display linked to knitting and making things indoors.

There are some good 'jumper' picture books that I have enjoyed reading.

Look for:

• Jack's Jumper by Sara Acton

• The Huey's in the New Jumper by Oliver Jeffers

• Where's My Jumper  by Nicola Slater    

• Sheep to Jumper by Fiona MacDonald

• The Bush Jumper by Jean Chapman and Ali Beck

• The Best Jumper by Lynne Garner

• Little Bear's Big Jumper by David Bedford and Caroline Pedler

• Extra Yarn  by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen 

• Otto Goes North  by Ulrika Kestere

• Unravelled by Leanne Hatch

• Woolly Jumper: The Story of Wool by Meredith Hooper

• Brrr! Where Did the Dinosaurs Really Go? by Kes Gray and Nick East

• Lester's Dreadful Sweaters  by K.G. Campbell

• Squirrel's Sweater  by Laura Renauld

• Sweater Weather by Matt Phelan

• From Sheep to Sweater  by Robin Nelson

My two favourites to read aloud to preschool classes:

And the newest:

There's a fun activity for this book on Sara's webpage.

And if you want to read about penguins wearing jumpers , not because they're cold but rather affected by an oil spill, read these:

• Flipper and Finnegan : the true story of how tiny jumpers saved little penguins  by Sophie Cunningham and Anil Tortop

• Penguins Don't Wear Sweaters by Marrika Tamura and Daniel Rieley

29th June Beanie Festival

Alice Springs has just held their annual Beanie Festival and it never ceases to amaze me what some people can make from wool. There are beanies that take book characters has their starting point. There are yet others that tell a whole story. A beanie depicting The Very Hungry Caterpillar was a winner. There was another depicting The Rainbow Serpent. One lady even managed to fit the whole of Ned Kelly's Gang on a beanie.

One of the book displays last term was of all the books in the library about knitting and yarn. The newest inclusion was Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. This story celebrates a young girl, Annabelle's ingenuity as she goes about changing her monochromatic world by knitting for everyone. This book has also just won The Boston Globe-Horn Award for excellence in children's literature, but it was very hard to move off the shelf in my library. Compared to the colourful covers of other books it just did not appeal to my young audience. I will need to do more to sell it.

While on the subject of wool though, I need to tell you that two six year old boys in my Book Club were having a quiet chuckle and discussion about a page in Nadia Shireen's Good Little Wolf where the little wolf has wrapped the big wolf in wool.

I can't find it to show you so you'll have to find the book. It is funny and highly improbable and thus appealing. The book also has a good ending, one that not many authors would risk in this day and age for this age group!

6th July

This is a no-birthday day, so I want to tell you about two great books that I can't feature on a birthday as I don't know the authors' birth dates. The first, is Milo Armadillo by Jan Fearnley, a story about a child, Tallulah, who wants a pink rabbit so much only to have to settle on a pink armadillo that her grandmother knits her. When I bought this book for the library I found the pattern for knitting the armadillo on the Walker Books website and got all inspired about knitting. We had also just bought Kids Learn to Knit by Lucinda Guy and Francois Hall, so inspired by these books, we put together a knitting and sewing book display. The idea for the knitted bunting came from Lucinda Guy's book. While looking for books in the library suitable for this display I found Shall I Knit You a Hat? by Kate Klise and illustrated by her sister, M. Sarah Klise, and Woolbur by Leslie Helakoski and Lee Harper. Woolbur, the second book you shouldn't miss, is a lovely book about a sheep who is not like any other sheep. He hangs out with wild dogs, dyes his wool, avoids shearing and will not follow the flock. Woolbur has a wonderful list of Dos and Don'ts. A good list to start a discussion or to have as a Circle Time focus:

DO express yourself creatively… DON'T worry if you weave your forelock into a pot holder! DO march to your own beat… DON'T worry when Maa and Paa tell you to stay with the herd! DO be bold and brave… DON'T be afraid to BE YOURSELF!