Yeah, I know, longest title ever.
Sorry.
There’s just so much to put in here!
First, welcome to Day 5!
I have a friend who has two kids, now 12 and 10.
They’ve been able to knit since they were 4 or 5.
They can’t believe I didn’t start until I was in my twenties!
There’s something really satisfying about making something for someone to wear.
I don’t knit as much as I used to,
mainly because I’ve run out of people to clothe!
But this book caught my eye, and I loved it.
Title: Knit your Bit: A World War I Story
Published by: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin, 2013
Written by: Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by: Steven Guarnaccia
Word Count: 1106Â Here’s the site where I get word count.
Page Count: 32
In one word: Cast-on!
In one sentence: You’ll want to learn to knit after reading about a reluctant boy knitter’s adventures in sock making to support the troops.
Favorite pages:
Likes:
- First Person POV. I’m a sucker for it and LOVE IT in picture books.
- The illustrations. They’re cartoony and so accessible. They draw you in.
- The pictures of actual knitters on the end papers.
- The flow of the story. Deborah Hopkinson is a historical fiction GENIUS.
- It does NOT feel like a 1106 word story. I was SHOCKED when I saw the word count!
- Added info in the back gives the reader more of the story (and trust me, you’ll want it!)
Learns:
- A little event in history can inspire an amazing story!
- I’ll keep my eyes out for those; I’ve been wanting to try historical fiction for a while now!
- You can STILL knit your bit for the soldiers.
- Inspiring kids to take action is a great side effect of writing an amazing book.
And now..
MEET: Kate DiCamillo!
She came to Hicklebee’s yesterday and I could not have been more excited!
I couldn’t get there as early as I wanted too because of work though.
I was bummed to miss her talk about new book, Flora and Ulysses.
If you haven’t read it, you must.
It’s AMAZINGLY funny, charming, poetic, and heartwarming, all at the same time.
K.G. Campbell’s illustrations are AMAZING as well!
I did get to meet her though, and we had a small conversation.
I basically gushed: “I love your books. You’re such a talented writer. THANK YOU SO MUCH!”
She asked if I was a teacher (“sort of…”)
and if I was a writer (“yes, a book in edits with an editor right now…”
“Good luck with that!” she beamed. “That’s wonderful!”
I also handed her a thank you note.
I write them for all the people I see there.
“For me?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said. “It’s only polite.”
She was also VERY excited to get her picture taken with Singe Singe!
“A sock monkey? OF COURSE I want a picture!”
I ended up getting 12 books signed.
Two were for a girl that I babysat for a long time,
basically since she was a baby until I left my hometown.
She’s 14 now and has an AMAZING library of books.
I took her Kate DiCamillo books and flew them back with me to CA from NY
to get them signed.
Here’s one:
Needless to say, she adored it when she saw it on Instagram,
and they’re going in the mail soon.
I got a bunch signed for me.
Here’s one:
and another for a friend, and ONE FOR YOU GUYS!
Yes, a GIVEAWAY!
(I know, you’re thinking, FINALLY you get to it, KATHY ELLEN!)
Here’s what you could win:
Now, I know it’s not a PICTURE book,
but, it’s KATE DiCAMILLO!
And it’s signed.
So I didn’t think you would mind 🙂
Each “I read this book” comment counts as an entry.
So you could be entered up to five times (including a comment today!)
I’ll pick the winner after today’s over,
and announce the lucky duck in tomorrow’s post.
So, what are you reading today?
And best of luck to you!
KE and SS
I read this book! I LOVE this book! As you will see from some of my future choices this month, I am a sucker for stories about come to life toys. (Can you guess which bunny book makes me cry now)? Anyway, it would be AWESOME to win this!
I’m confused by what you say about “up to five times,” though. Does this mean I should comment about “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” four more times today in order to be more eligible to win this, or what? Please let me know.
Oh, I think I’ve got it. Let me copy and paste this comment into the last four posts.
Today I read “Hopalong Jack and the Blue Bunnies.” It’s a wonderful story of being special and unique, but what really makes it take the carrot cake is its beautiful illustrations. These illustrations are among the most detailed I’ve ever seen in a children’s book. They depict a very elaborate bunny community both in the forest and underground.
This particular copy I got signed from the author (who’s also the illustrator) at a crafts fair. She wrote: “Writers are always welcome in our hollow as long as they eat their peas.”
Sorry, I’m not trying to cheat. I just realized after posting about having read “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” that we’re supposed to post about the picture books we read today, not that book, up to five times to be eligible for the signed copy of “Edward Tulane.” So please ignore my posts about “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” and focus instead on my posts about another bunny book, “Hopalong Jack and the Blue Bunnies.”
Thanks Lily!
Each day that you post what book you read,
you are entered.
So you only have to comment once per day about the book you read.
And that counts as an entry!
THanks for reading along! Love your reviews!
Ah, Kate! Wish I could have made it to Hicklebee’s. Today I read MY LUCKY DAY by Keiko Kasza. I’ve read this over and over as a bedtime favorite, and its clever ending still delights, every time!
I love this review Susan.
And now I’m intrigued by this book.
thanks for sharing!
How great that you got to meet Kate! And what a nice First Giveaway gift. If I win (I hope, I hope!), I will rush to read it with enthusiasm (because, well, it’s a Kate DiCamillo) and grudgingly (because I’m afraid it will make me all weepy).
My PB of the day is BEN RIDES ON by Matt Davies, 2013, A Neal Porter Book (Roaring Brook Press), 341 words (Thanks for the link, KATHY ELLEN!).
The story and illustrations are terrific. I loved remembering how I felt when I got my first bike. Ben’s bike is stolen by a bully. You’ll thoroughly enjoy how the problem is resolved.
What I liked best about the book is Matt Davies use of L O N G words most PB writers shy away from — lots of long words. Posession. Devastated. Explained, revolved, revenge (all in one sentence!. Peculiar. Immediate. Investigation. Whereupon. Discovered. Significant. Extraordinarily. (Yes, really, extraordinarily.) There are more. They’re used perfectly, so kids will get a pretty clear idea of what they mean, and they’re used in a story told in a way that kids will want it read again and again. What a lovely way to teach kids new words. Three cheers, Matt Davies!
Read this book and ride the waves of emotion with Ben. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Edward Tulane MAY make you cry.
But in a good way 🙂
I’ve heard so much about Ben Rides on.
Have to read that book now!
I love that he uses big words.
Kids need a GRAND vocabulary 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
I read “Ladybug Girl at the Beach” by David Soman and Jacky Davis. It is the first I’ve read in this series. This is another I checked out from the library.
I really must check out Hicklebee’s next time I am up that way. It sounds like a great store. I cannot believe you got nine books signed! Wow! They are limiting us to 3 each, and only one can be personalized. That reminds me, I need to figure out which ones to get signed tomorrow. I love your thank you note idea.
Ladybug girl is a fun series.
And yes, you’ve GOT to check out HIcklebee’s.
It’s pretty much the best bookstore in the entire world.
They let authors and illustrators write and draw on the walls, and in the bathroom!
I’ve done thank you notes for a while now;
for almost a selfish reason.
I really like writing them!
And people usually like getting them, so it works out.
Except some people I’ve met so many times
(Jon Klassen and Mac Barnett)
that they may be getting sick of them 🙂
How fun you met Kate and read Knit Your Bit. I just read about that book in an interview online with Deborah H. And how exciting an editor has YOUR story. Did the publisher buy it? I don’t remember hearing the news. But congrats!
I read Dream Friends by You Byun. The illustrations alone are gorgeous,sparse text about a little girl who has so much fun w/a dream friend, but when she wakes up her friend is gone.
Sounds like a fun book, Tina.
And I LOVE Deborah H. Her books are always so fun!
My story that’s with an editor is in revisions right now,
then there will be the “to buy or not to buy” decision.
But we got notes from the editor and encouraging words,
so it all hinges on this revision.
Which I’m going to work on…
in a little bit 🙂
I read “You’re Finally Here!” by Melanie Watt. Very cute book!
I think I’ve read that one.
I like Melanie Watt’s style.
Thanks for sharing!
How exciting to meet Kate! I always feel like such an idiot when I meet my favorite authors – either gushing like a schoolgirl or too shy to say anything at all!
Anyway, today I read I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen and he has quickly become one of my favorite picture book authors. This book is so simple in both the words and illustrations, but yet so completely charming at the same time.
Kirsten, I totally get what you’re saying.
I was that way at first.
And then Hicklebee’s brought so many people,
and my writing took off a little bit,
and I realized they’re just like me,
but they’ve been doing it longer.
(Some for a lot longer!)
That helped me.
I want my hat back is great.
And so is Jon Klassen.
I think I’ve met him at least 5 times now.
A real stand up guy.
Thanks for sharing!
I have not read Kate DiCamillo’s books, but I shall! Very cute.
Your story with an editor sounds as though you have a publishing deal? Very cool, congrats!
Tonight I read Strega Nona as told to Tomie dePaola. It’s very sweet. I would have liked to have seen more of Nona’s magic, but still very neat. 🙂
Ah Strega Nona.
Love her.
I do have a book with an editor,
and we just got revision notes back.
After the revision is done,
they will or will not make an offer.
But Team Kathy Ellen (agent, sock monkey, and me)
are optimistic 🙂
Thanks for the congrats 🙂
One book for today was “Wild for Books” by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown.
Okay- so this was not a big hit with me or the kids. Plot is that a librarian brings books to the zoo and soon all the animals are reading and writing their own stories. Pluses include bright silly illustrations of many types of animals reading books, lots of inside jokes with particular animal choices of book titles or puns of titles, and my favorite text by far are the haikus written by a series of insects. Ultimately though the book feels too long and I find some of the rhyme to be forced and the meter off in places.
Thanks for the honest review, Stacey.
I’ll have to check this one out and see what I think.
Forced rhyme and the meter being off is one of the reasons I’ll NEVER write in rhyme!
Thanks for sharing!
I have read some of her books, but never knew she wrote to so many!
Today I read ‘Cats Night Out’ by Caroline Stutson and illustrated by J. Klassen (apparently the first illustrations he did for a children’s book!). The text is fun and basically is a counting books about cats dancing on easy street. I recognized Klassen’s style straight away. Yum!
Yes!
Love this book!
Did you find the hidden numbers?
The number of the cats per page is hidden in each page.
Most are pretty easy to find,
but it’s an added little thing that makes the book even more fun.
Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE that you gave her a thank you note. My mother insisted on handwritten thank you’s and now I insist on them from my kids too. Let’s keep it from becoming a dying artform!
Today I read FRANKENSTEIN’S CAT by Curtis Jobling. It takes 9 creatures to assemble him, so he is given the name Nine, and all he wants is a few friends. An idea with a lot of potential, and a few funny moments but a little creepy for the youngest readers!
Ok Cathy, DEAL!
Let’s keep the handwriting tradition ALIVE!
Frankenstein’s Cat sounds really fun.
Thanks for sharing!
We just borrowed this from the library after seeing it on your blog. I am so glad we did! What a wonderful book! I may just have fallen for historical fiction thanks to this book!
So, I completely lost track of my 31 in 31 this time around. Possibly because I’ve been reading so many novels. Possibly because I’ve been writing. Possibly because I’m a lousy excuse maker. (That’s probably it.)
BUT. I have been reading PBs, because PBs are amazeballs. I returned to THE ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan for this post. It will always be a favorite of mine.