CraftSanity with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

When I saw the scraggily sheep on the cover holding knitting needles, I knew chances were very good that I was going to dig this children's book from the get go.

It's called "Woolbur" and a review copy showed up today and stole the show at story time at my house this evening. The delightful book tells the story of a "free spirit" sheep who doesn't like to follow the flock. He does his own thing and worries his parents who "pull their wool all night long." Somehow I could really relate to that scraggily little sheep.

Since I was basically sold on this book after one look at the cover art, I decided my personal bias in favor of crafts would likely cloud my judgement and make it impossible for me to evaluate this book fairly. So I enlisted the help of CraftSanity's 3-year-old V.P. of fun, Abby Rose. (The 2-year-old associate V.P. of fun, Amelia Claire, was busy opening junk mail at the time, so she didn't weigh in on this review.)

So, after our vegetarian lasagna dinner, Abby and I settled in for our first, second and third readings of this book.

The story by Leslie Helakoski contains delightful references to carding, spinning, dying and weaving. And the text is brought to humorous life by illustrator Lee Harper who reportedly got a subscription to "Fiber Arts Magazine" to soak up some fiber knowledge to create a convincing Woolbur. The end result is beautiful.

At the end of our first reading I asked Abby what she thought and she said simply: "Read it again! Read it again!" So I happily obliged.

The book held her attention for two more back-to-back readings, and she seemed to enjoy the wacky stuff Woolbur does. To test whether or not she was grasping the story line, I asked her what the book was about.

"A sheep who does a bunch of crazy stuff to his wool," she said.

That's essentially true.

I tried to explain the part about Woolbur being a free spirit and told her that I'm a free spirit, too. She took a good look at me (focusing mainly on my hair), then looked at the book, then back at me and said: "No, mom, you don't look like him at all."

Nevertheless, we read the book four times this evening and we both still like the story.

This one gets two thumbs up from this mother-daughter review team.

If you're looking for other quality, craft-related children's books to read with your kids or give as gifts to the adult crafters in your life here are my favorite titles that meet this crafty criteria:

"Knitting Nell" - This is a great book by Julie Jersild Roth (I interviewed her for CraftSanity episode 54.) that tells the story of Nell, a shy little knitter who listens to her friends while she knits for charity. She never says much, especially not after she's told her voice sounds like a cricket. The story has a sweet ending that gives Nell a chance to shine and be recognized for her unique talent among her peers.


"Shall I Knit You a Hat?" I LOVE this book written by Kate Klise and illustrated by her her sister M. Sarah Klise. It's about a rabbit who designs cozy winter hats that his mother knits or all his friends before a blizzard. The book celebrates the joy of giving. I believe current editions come with a super cute rabbit hat pattern. (I've had my copy for a few years and it does not include the hat pattern. Darn! It might be time to get a new copy with the pattern and gift this one to the local library.)


"The Quiltmaker's Gift" - This story, by Jeff Brumbeau and beautifully illustrated by Gail de Marcken, tells the story of a woman who only sews amazing quilts for the poor and refuses to sell one to the rich king who has everything. She tells the king, she will make him a quilt only if he gives away all of his possessions. The story highlights the joy of sharing what you have and emphasizes what's really important in life.