Read-alouds and knitting -- what could be better?

Margot Davidson at Hillside Education has just announced a brand new book:

Yep, that would be MY BOOK! The long-awaited, long-hinted-at book will finally be coming out. Pre-orders are available from Margot's web-site (and you'll get a pair of hand-made Birch knitting needles to-boot!) until March 8th with the books shipping by around March 12!

How exciting is that??????

Just to give you an idea, we read-aloud a dozen great family read-alouds and then I designed projects for each book. Here are the books we chose and the designs included in this book:

1. Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
a. Pinocchio Doll and Clothes
2. Canadian Summer by Hilda vanStockum
a. Mr. Magic’s Gnome Hat
b. Arthur Purcell’s “Gay” Sweater
3. The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkein
a. Bilbo’s Backpack
b. Bilbo’s Traveling Jacket
4. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder *
a. Ma’s Boot Socks
b. Pa’s Red-White Checked Mittens
5. Little House in the Highlands by Melissa Wiley *
a. Mittens for Laird Alroch & Auld Mary
b. Tullie Greyshanks Doll and Clothes
6. The Lost Island by Eilis Dillon
a. Fisherman’s Jersey
b. Wool Socks for the Journey
7. Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
a. Mary Poppins’ Carpetbag
b. Mary Poppins’ Fur-trimmed Gloves
8. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
a. Captain Cook (penguin doll)
b. Mr. Popper’s Cozy Scarf
9. Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
a. Otto’s Chain Mail
b. Otto’s Scabbard and Belt
10. Redwall by Brian Jacques
a. Matthias’ Over-sized Habit
b. Asmodeus the Snake
11. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
a. Colin’s Rug and Cushion
b. Mrs. Sowerby’s Cloak
12. The Wheel on the School by Meindert deJong
a. Lina’s Stocking Cap
b. Thick Wools Socks for Linda & Jan

These are all fun projects -- I had fun creating them and I think you'll have fun making them too! We've also included some basic knitting helps and a fully annotated bibliography of great knitting books.

The book-links are to the versions we used ... many are hard-cover as we want to keep these classics. The two that are *'ed, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House in the Highlands by Melissa Wiley, are quickly going the way of the Albatross -- the publishers are changing the editions to give them a more updated appeal. Try to find these editions linked here -- the text is complete and the pictures are wonderful!

Please let me know what you think about this book -- I'd love to do a sequel, especially when I saw UK's List of Best Children's Books and saw many on that list that I'd love to read-aloud to my kids and create more designs!