SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

November 7, 2019 by Betsy Bird

The Scourge of Skyward Knitting Needles: It Continues

November 7, 2019 by Betsy Bird   14 comments

Even Charles Addams had no difficulty figuring out how to depict knitting

It’s baaaaack! That most wonderful time of the year where we determine once and for all whether or not skilled illustrators are capable of rendering knitting needles correctly on a picture book page. A weird obsession, I’ll grant, but an oddly rewarding one.

If you’ve seen my previous posts (here and here) then you’ll know that the rules are simple. If an artist features a knitting character, they gain points if the knitting needles are pointed down, they lose points if they are pointed up, and they neither gain or lose points if the knitting needles if there are extenuating circumstances. We’ll be examining 2019 releases today.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Before we begin, a quick Q&A:

Q: Does everyone point the ends of their knitting needles down when they knit?

A: Yes.

Q: Really? Are you sure? Because I know someone in Argentina who knits with the ends up . . .

A: If the book is set in Argentina we’ll make an exception.

Q: I heard that in the 1920s/30s the needles would be pointed up . . .

A: Tell you what. I’ll allow it . . . if the book is set in the 1920s and 30s.

Q: But isn’t it easier to show that a character is knitting if the ends are pointed up?

A: Yep. Don’t care.

Q: I knit that way.

A: You do?

Q: I do. And now you’re vilifying it.

A: I totally am.

Q: Well, that makes me feel bad.

A: Sorry about that. You must admit that it is a tad uncommon. A simple Google search of the term “knitting” shows that right away.

Q: I’ve been doing it this way for 55 years.

A: Huh. Well, let me put it this way. I purchase all the knitting books for my library. And not a single one of them teaches knitting the way that you’ll see featured in some of the following illustrations. So if you knit that way, I tip my hat to you. But if you are illustrating a picture book, I expect just a rudimentary bit of research to see how the majority of the 21st century public knits.

Q: It’s their choice, though.

A: Totally. I’m just weird about this.

And there we go! Now! Let’s dole out some points . . . .

Very nice. We’re off to a fine start. Good needle placement and inclusion fo balls of yarn.

Final Score: 1

Hmmm. Cute art. I like how the hedgehog and badger are rendered. Demidova is a Russian illustrator so I looked up Russian knitting. Unfortunately, it does not appear that Russians knit any differently than Americans, in this respect. The ends of those knitting needles are pointed high to the sky!

Final Score: 0

Ahhh… that’s more like it. The meticulousness of your average knitting beaver. Needles pointed downward, and a variety of different colored yarns to account for the stripes. Nicely done.

Final Score: 1

Hmm. Interesting. Well, it’s a little hard to see in the small image here, but if you had the book in hand you’d see that not only is the polar bear knitting realistically, but you can actually make out the cast on stitches on the needles.

Final Score: 1

Aw. So the book took some interesting liberties with the exact nature in which one dyes wool and yarn, but for the most part, it has been very good about what the process would be to knit a sweater from scratch. Plus any book that shows someone poring over the knitting instructions appears to care about the material at hand.

Final Score: 1

You know . . . the longer I stare at this image from the cover of this book, the more I think the author isn’t depicting knitting at all but crocheting. Would you agree? Those needles appear to be hooked. I think putting this image into knitting terms would be unfair to it.

Final Score: N/A

Boy, here’s another one getting it right! Dare I say it’s been a banner year?

Final Score: 1

Oh, doggone it. The kicker here is that I seriously believe that Why? by Rex and Keane is one of the smartest and cleverest picture books of the year. Unfortunately, when we actually get to see our super villain in his favorite element, he seems not to have figured out how to hold his needles. A dent in an otherwise perfect book.

Final Score: 0

Any 2019 titles I’ve missed?

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

March 2023

Announcing the Stinetinglers Winner! The Kettle's Dark Secret by Clara J.

by Betsy Bird

March 2023

Bologna Presentations: IBBY Doing the Good Work That Needs to Be Done, Worldwide

by Betsy Bird

February 2023

Sydney Taylor Book Blog Award Tour Interview: Featuring Mari Lowe of Aviva Vs. the Dybbuk!

by Betsy Bird

January 2023

The Top Ten Most Disappointing Edibles and Potables of Children's Literature

by Betsy Bird

January 2023

Announcing the 2023 Newbery/Caldecott/YMA Pre-Game Show!

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

2023 Caldecott Jump

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Bonds and Books: An Interview with Megan Dowd Lambert About Building Connections Through Family Reading

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Recent Graphic Novel Deals, Early Mar 2023 | News

by Johanna

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Popular Middle Grade Author Stuart Gibbs Launches a New Venture to Help Inspire and Guide Young Writers

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Newbery Medalist Amina Luqman-Dawson visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

6 Middle Grade & YA Novels on Repeat for Groundhog Day

Looking for a Book to Read Aloud? These Classics Made the Hall of Fame.

14 Fiction and Nonfiction Books to Celebrate Pi Day

SLJ Reviews of the 2023 Youth Media Award Winners

4 Middle Grade & YA Nonfiction Titles to Help Heal the World

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jean Reagan says

    November 7, 2019 at 12:23 am

    Take a peek at A Scarf for Keiko by Ann Malaspina, illustrated by Merrilee Liddiard. Kar-Ben Publishing. I think you’ll be pleased with the directions of the knitting needles and by the book itself.

    • Elizabeth Bird says

      November 7, 2019 at 10:07 am

      Excellent!

  2. Rachel says

    November 7, 2019 at 8:24 am

    Love that book!!

  3. Tiffany says

    November 7, 2019 at 10:26 am

    I zoomed in on my picture from Pigeon Math, and it those are crochet needs, which I think they I are, then why is the pigeon using two needles? That’s not how I crochet!

  4. Chris Gustafson says

    November 7, 2019 at 9:37 pm

    So maybe I am not the only one who worries about the cover of When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds which shows a gun covered with crochet when the text clearly describes a character as a knitter?

    • Elizabeth Bird says

      November 7, 2019 at 10:55 pm

      Oh you are NOT the first. I’ve heard lots of folks kvetch about that one.

  5. Robin Smith says

    November 8, 2019 at 3:29 pm

    I think you need to give the badger and porcupine a pass in “The Friendship Yarn”. Yes, the needles are pointed up, but they are also holding the needles at the wrong end. Obviously they aren’t actually knitting at that moment of illustration – they are pausing to examine their work.
    And the villain of a story is naturally going to do things his own way. So, yes, that gets a pass also. lol

    • Elizabeth Bird says

      November 9, 2019 at 11:37 pm

      Ooo. I love this interpretation. Okay, point detraction rescinded for the furry woodland creatures then. But the villain apparently loved knitting before his conversion to villainy, so no pass for him this time.

  6. BROOKE SHIRTS says

    November 11, 2019 at 11:54 am

    I think much of the upwards-needle phenomenon is simply due to illustrators confusing knitting with crochet. (Or possibly double-pointed knitting-in-the-round, but if that’s the case there had better be 4-5 needles involved.) People didn’t use upwards-pointing needles in knitting in the 20s, 30s, Argentina, or in any other time or place because the craft is impossible when the needles are held that way! For further evidence, I highly recommend Barbara Levine’s charming book “People Knitting: A Century of Photographs,” where you can see a picture of friggin’ Sojourner Truth with her knitting. And yes, she holds her needles in the correct way.

    • Elizabeth Bird says

      November 11, 2019 at 1:24 pm

      Bee-autifully put!!

  7. Barb Gogan says

    November 12, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    I look forward to this every time. <3

  8. Libby says

    November 12, 2019 at 6:03 pm

    I can’t tell you how much I love your knitting needle posts. Thanks!!

  9. Erin Murphy says

    November 13, 2019 at 8:33 am

    I love this series, but I am continually flummoxed by the wording of “the ends pointing down,” when you don’t mean the POINTY ends are pointing down.

    • Elizabeth Bird says

      November 13, 2019 at 9:47 am

      Ah, I see what you mean. I always think of the “front” being the point part, since it’s the part you’re working with primarily. And on a lot of needles both ends are pointy. How to distinguish?

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023