The Never-Ending Sweater

March 15, 2023
We can travel far, but we never really leave home. When Peter is very young, his grandmother knits him a "too big" sweater, and he wears the thick, purple wool garment daily for years. When he outgrows their seaside village, he leaves to see the world. Peter embarks on adventures, still wearing the sweater and corresponding with his grandmother. Years later, he returns home to discover his grandmother is gone (presumably deceased) and a new family lives next door. They've also traveled from afar to this place with their young son, Little P. Peter and the boy become friends, Little P telling Peter about his former home and reminiscing wistfully about his own grandmother. Peter recalls all his journeys as he reviews the letters his grandmother lovingly saved. Peter dons his sweater "for what he knew would be the last time" because he's decided to give it to Little P, another long-distance traveler who needs to be "reminded of home." This Canadian import's themes of close friendship and intergenerational family connections should resonate with children, though its nostalgic feel has an adult sensibility that may go over their heads. The delicately colored gouache, pencil, and digital illustrations are warmly emotional. Peter is brown-skinned; his grandmother and Little P and his family are lighter-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.) In this tale, the rich bonds of family and friendship feel as warm and cozy as a comfy wrap. (Picture book. 5-8)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 3, 2023
A loving intergenerational relationship underlies Welch’s descriptive telling of an object that reminds its wearer of home. Asked to make Peter, portrayed with brown skin, “a VERY BIG SWEATER,” the child’s white-presenting grandmother knits “sturdy cuffs that would keep out the dampest weather, and a long body that would survive the most exciting of adventures,” producing an oversize purple wool sweater. It makes Peter feel “like he was wearing a royal cape,” and he wears it clamming and cranberry-picking alongside her as he continues to grow in the seaside village where they live. By the time it finally fits, Peter is ready to see the world, and he sets off with the sweater, sending back stories of livestock, sheep shearing, and knitting. Though “it was a long time before he made his way home,” Leung’s earth-toned gouache, pencil, and digital illustrations slowly signal how the subtly patterned sweater roots Peter to the place, and, eventually, promises to do the same for another. Ages 3–5.