How to Knit a Monster

May 1, 2018
Sometimes knitting can be monstrously adventuresome.White goat Greta loves to knit. One day, she decides to move beyond her usual repertoire of socks and fashions one small knitted goat and then several more to keep each other company. Unfortunately, "mean Mrs. Sheep" enters and criticizes Greta's craftsmanship. Angry, Greta stops paying attention to her knits and purls, her work grows to great lengths, and what should appear but a wolf who scares off the goats. He then "gobbles up Mrs. Sheep, wool and all," and frightens Greta into a closet. Greta quickly crafts a ferocious-looking tiger who gobbles up the wolf. Not satisfied, the tiger wants some goat, too. Greta responds to this threat by creating a very big "MONSTER" who swallows up the tiger. But Greta is a smart knitter. She does not bind off her last stitch and proceeds to unravel her last creation, "riffle raffle riffle raffle whoosh." All ends well for the gobbled-up animals, and Greta resumes her knitting--but does not pay careful attention to the green yarn on her needles. (Think toothy and crawly.) The story, told in the present tense, is well-paced and laced with onomatopoeia, and van Haeringen's India ink, watercolor, and colored pencil illustrations are lively and amusing, especially when set against a white background. Greta keeps a smiling face even when dwarfed by her fearsome menagerie.For those who enjoy seeing their beasts appear and disappear (and appear). (Picture book. 4-8)

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July 1, 2018
Two popular picture-book subjects, knitting and monsters, get an unlikely, whimsical mashup in this delectable Dutch import. Greta the goat thinks herself a masterful knitter and has knitted up a crew of little goats to keep her company. Mean Mrs. Sheep objects, and when a distracted Greta accidentally knits a hungry wolf who swallows Mrs. Sheep whole, it seems she may have had a point. Greta knits a tiger to take care of the wolf, and when the tiger threatens Greta, she knits an enormous monster to take care of the tiger. Having learned her lesson, Greta hangs onto the monster's tail and unravels the whole mess, revealing Mrs. Sheep, now full of praise. A final spread suggests that the grass Greta is knitting for her baby goats may come back to bite her. The ebullient story is enhanced by illustrations made of spare, gestured line drawings to depict the cloven-hoofed main characters and richly textured, saturated painting to show the needlework. A new and winning take on the traditional cumulative story. thom barthelmess

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2019
Greta the goat thinks herself a masterful knitter. When Greta accidentally knits a hungry wolf who swallows Mrs. Sheep whole, Greta knits a tiger to take care of the wolf; when the tiger threatens Greta, she knits an enormous monster... Spare, gestured line drawings depict the cloven-hoofed characters and richly textured painting shows the needlework in this ebullient Dutch import, a winning take on the traditional cumulative story.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)