Emily MacKenzie, Stanley the Amazing Knitting Cat Bloomsbury/Allen & Unwin, Feb 2016, 32pp., $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781408860489
Emily MacKenzie is obviously a woman after my own heart. Her first picture book, Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit, Book Burglar, was about a rabbit who loves reading. Her latest is about a cat who loves knitting.
Stanley is a prodigious knitter. He knits for all his friends – bobble hats, trunk tubes for elephants, neck warmers for giraffes etc. He knits anywhere he can, including in the bath and at the supermarket. One day he spots a poster for a Woolly Wonders competition for the wackiest woolly creation. Stanley begins his rather large project which takes so much yarn that he runs out. How Stanley finds enough wool to continue, what he knits and how he fares in the competition shall remain secret – you’ll have to read the book!
The author has used crayon to great effect, giving the knitting and the loose yarn a very realistic look. The illustrations of various animals sporting Stanley’s knitted creations are hilarious and to see Stanley’s finished project readers have to turn the book sideways.
This book is imaginative and great fun to read. It is also inspiring to see a male character knitting as if it’s the most ordinary activity. In addition, fans can download a knitting pattern of Stanley from Ravelry.
Reviewed by Lynne Babbage
