Susan B. Anderson

I checked out this book from the library because I liked the idea of a baby bird in an egg that hatches (you turn the construct inside out to turn it from one to the other) and is even settled in a little nest. How perfect that would be for Easter baskets! Now I'm also planning on making some toy fruit (finger puppet grapes and pears and apples!) and looking wistfully at The Princess and the Pea playset with stacks of cute little mattresses. And there is much more: cheerful, round-bodied stuffed animals, interactive toys that turn inside out to take on a different aspect, and simple to knit basics like balls and stacking blocks.… (mer)

I don't know whether this book will stay "gone" or not, but when I thought that not having any more babies in the extended family made the book surplus to requirements, my 6 year old grandson soon proved me wrong. I had to retrieve the book from the box destined for the secondhand bookstore and cast on for the Three Pigs and a Wolf playset (three houses and a cauldron also included). SO cute and apparently, not "too young" for six year olds! It's finished, getting a lot of use, and is a remarkably versatile play set. And then, a friend pointed out the adorable Grumpy Bear pattern, composed entirely of garter-stitch rectangles: a perfect project for beginning knitters. The book is definitely a keeper.… (mer)