Knitting for dogs

This cozy story illuminates two big realities: that everyone fails sometimes and that failure itself can lead to something better. Izzy is a stupendously handy girl who can build just about anything. We see her big dog, Max, looking on admiringly as she uses a drill bit, a saw, and hammer and nails to build a birdhouse, a beehouse, a swing, a tent, and even a catapult for throwing tennis balls to Max. Izzy turns her capable hands to knitting, but the arms and bodies of the sweaters she attempts are all misshapen. Izzy persists, however, telling Max that "failure is part of the creative process. We just aren't used to it." Finally, inspiration strikes! Izzy will repurpose her yarn by knitting a sweater for Max. A visit to the dog park expands the idea into knitting sweaters for any dog who needs one. The illustrations, done in watercolor, pen, ink, and a little Photoshop, are cheerfully comic. The book ends with instructions on how to knit a scarf, though kids will undoubtedly need extra explanation and guidance.

Izzy, "a medium-sized girl with big ideas," is a die-hard maker--a homemade tennis ball catapult is a particular favorite of dog Max. But success eludes her when Izzy, portrayed with light brown skin, tries to knit herself a sweater. She's already completed a scarf and other basic projects, and she's open to a learning arc: patient and tenacious, she tells Max, "Failure is part of the creative process. We just aren't used to it." And yet, "Each sweater was worse than the one before." Then Izzy hits on the ultimate lemonade-from-lemons idea: turning a misshapen sweater into a warm garment for Max, which sparks demand at the local dog park; a marvelous watercolor and ink spread depicts triumphant Izzy watching sweatered pooches of all sizes romping and chasing tennis balls in the snow. Though IRL knitters will have justifiable qualms with the handling of knitting's technical realities, Molk (A Synagogue Just Like Home) demystifies the problem-solving process with measured storytelling, wry images, and a cool but approachable protagonist, acknowledging both the frustrations of hitting a metaphoric wall and the joys of discovering new depths of personal ingenuity. Scarf directions conclude. Ages 4--8. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (Nov.)