Yetsa's Sweater
PreSchool-Grade 3–Children who wonder how wool gets from the sheep into the sweater will find their answers here. A grandmother and her granddaughter participate in a 100-year-old tradition that represents a blending of the knitting skills of Scottish immigrants and the woolworking talents of the Cowichan tribe, according to an author's note. Realistic outdoor compositions portray three generations pulling debris (including sheep dung) from the fiber, washing and stirring it in enormous pots, and then wringing and hanging the heavy strands to dry. The processes of teasing, carding, and spinning lead up to a scene of Grandma knitting the gray, white, and black yarns into the patterns, rich in symbolism, that adorn her loved one's sweater. Larson's pastels create a marvelous range of textures from the grain of the wooden fence to the fluff of the drying wool. Set in British Columbia, the story will have wide appeal, not the least of which includes its use as an informative how-to and a tale of strong family bonds. Pair this with Tomie dePaola'sCharlie Needs a Cloak(S & S, 1973) for the sheep's point of view.–Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.