Knitting Nell

by Julie Jersild Roth

Overview

Nell knits . . . a lot. She knits blankets for new babies, socks and hats and mittens for the children’s home, and scarves for everyone in her family.

What Nell doesn’t do is talk a lot. She listens to her friends chat and laugh, and she knits some more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547528878
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	07/24/2006
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Julie Jersild Roth is a full-time writer, illustrator, and artist. Though Julie herself is a knitter, she was inspired by the women in her neighborhood book club who, unlike herself, found the time to knit and finish the assigned books on time. “I started imagining how they could accomplish such things. Do they knit while walking the dog? Do they knit in the bathtub? I decided to explore this with a little character . . . Nell.” Julie lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband and two children.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 2-4-Nell is a shy girl who finds solace in knitting and purling. After being told that her voice sounds "like a cricket with a pillow over its head," she retreats into her shell even more. She loves to knit mittens, scarves, and hats for her family, for herself, and for people in need. When her friends do not show interest in a sweater that she has made, she decides to enter it in the county fair. She wins first prize and is also awarded a special medal for outstanding efforts in the service of others. Her family is proud of her and her friends are amazed. After the fair, Nell begins to use her "happy cricket's voice," especially when she is teaching her friends to knit. The watercolor illustrations are soft and bright and surrounded by white space. The layout varies from nine tiny pictures to a single illustration per page. Although smiles abound, the illustrations reflect the protagonist's quietness. A good addition where there is a demand for books about shyness.-Linda Staskus, Parma Regional Library, OH Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

The school life of pleasant Nell was changed when another student told her "she had a voice like a cricket with a pillow over its head." After that, she rarely speaks, but continues to knit and listen to friends, and then she enters a hand-knit sweater in the county fair. The use of vibrant and complementary watercolors in full-page spreads or in small conversational squares attests to Nell's bright and giving nature. Figures are stylized with wide faces and stick-like limbs. At the fair, Nell applauds the medal winners and receives a blue ribbon for her sweater. But her family and friends are amazed at her service award from the Mayor. Now, Nell talks with "her happy cricket's voice," listens and encourages her knitting friends. Nell's unusual tenacity and generous way of coping with a bully add enlightenment to an all-too-common occurrence in children's lives everywhere. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

"A good addition where there is a demand for books about shyness." School Library Journal

"Nell's unusual tenacity and generous way of coping with a bully add enlightenment to an all-too-common occurrence in children's lives everywhere." Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher