Annie Hoot and the Knitting Extravaganza, by Holly Clifton-Brown

by Holly Clifton-Brown
Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
978-0-7613-6444-3

Annie Hoot loves to knit. But the other owls refuse to wear her colorful creations. So Anie knits herself a hot air balloon and sets off to find some animals who will appreciate her talents. What can she make for the rainforest animals? African animals? Polar animals? And what will she discover when she returns home?

Originally published in the UK by Andersen Press, you will find a few words and spellings changed - 'scatty' becomes 'scatterbrained' (although we kind of like "scatty" better), and 'colours' of course becomes 'colors'. What bright, bright colors they are! While the story is simple and sweet, the pictures definitely make the book. Annie is a plump little bird with an expressive face, and a cute little acorn button on her sweater. Parrots happily admire their new knitted boots, and giraffes look serene in their (very long) new scarves. Children will enjoy poring over the details, and may be inspired to do some creating of their own - whether with yarn, or on paper.