Sale price

$1597

Picture Book · Ages 3–7 · 2016 · Est. 2 min read-aloud

Cat Knit

By Jacob Grant

Cat's friend Yarn changes after being taken away. Can Cat accept the new Yarn?

4.8/7 Bookroo experts·4.2/5 Goodreads · 1,077 ratings

32 pages· 153 words· Est. 2 min read-aloud

$16.99Save 6%

Not currently available from Bookroo. Also at Amazon.

Bookroo's summary

Cat and Yarn are inseparable until Girl takes Yarn away, returning him changed and unfamiliar. Cat is furious, but as he grapples with the loss of his old friend, he must decide if he can embrace the new Yarn. Will Cat's anger keep them apart, or can he learn that change might not be so bad after all? Discover how friendship evolves in this heartwarming tale of acceptance and growth.

"When Yarn returned, he wasn't his usual bouncy self."

— from the book

From the publisher

Cat and Yarn are the best of friends. They have so much fun playing together, the two are inseparable.

Until the day Girl takes Yarn away.

When Yarn returns, he is completely changed, no longer Cat’s bright and rolly friend. Cat is mad!

Soon, Cat begins to miss his best friend, and he just might realize that a little change isn’t so bad after all.

At a glance

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 32
Words: 153
Reading age: 3–7
Audience: Picture
Lexile: ~202L

Themes & topics

Books about change Books about cats Books about yarn and string Books about snow Books about friendship

The Bookroo review

What our editors thought of Cat Knit

Demonstrating a remarkable range of expressions for a moody feline, Cat is the contented pet and longtime friend of Girl. When Girl notices a sale at a yarn shop, she brings home a ball, which quickly becomes Cat’s new friend, Yarn. Cat and Yarn enjoy many activities together, like reading, sledding, and building snowmen, but then “Girl also wanted to to play with Yarn.” Unfortunately for Cat, when Girl “plays” with Yarn, she knits Yarn into a sweater for Cat. Cat is very unhappy with the change, and in anger, he marches out into the snow to find a way to ditch Yarn. Upon successfully peeling Yarn off, however, Cat realizes that he’s cold out in the snow without his old friend. That’s when Grant makes a masterful observation that applies literally to Cat’s situation yet offers an equally wise figurative lesson for readers: “Warming up to something new takes time.” Demonstrating his subtle wit—observant readers will notice that Girl has sketched a knit cap and mittens to accompany Cat’s new sweater—Grant knits a unique tale from a stereotypical relationship. Even the names of Cat, Yarn, and Girl, while seemingly defaults, feel intentional and fitting in this humorous tale.

The verdict

“A clever, humorous tale spun from the familiar relationship of a cat and a ball of yarn.”

Bookroo Editorial

Reviewed January 2020

4.8/7

After the last page

Talk about it together

Cat doesn't like Yarn's new "look" until he realizes how cold he is without his sweater. Has there ever been a time in your life when something changed, and at first you weren't happy about the change, but later you realized you actually liked the change?

If you look closely at the illustrations, you can see clever clues about what might happen next in the story. This is called foreshadowing. What clues can you find that foreshadow what will happen later in this story?

Inside the book

A peek between the covers

Good to know

Stories behind the story

What do you like most about Cat and Yarn's friendship?

When first writing the story, I was excited by the idea of a character befriending an inanimate object. There's something very sweet and child-like about that concept, but also a bit magical. A simple ball of yarn suddenly becomes something more, just because of the way Cat feels about it. It was later that I grew to appreciate what these two characters could say about friendship with Yarn's transformation, that is, that friendship can change over time and that's ok. Also, there are few things more fun to draw than a grumpy cat.

Cat's expressions create a lot of humorous moments in the story. How did you make Cat so surprisingly expressive?

The power of eyebrows! It's impressive what the little tufts can do for an expression. When sharing the book at readings, I draw several scenes to demonstrate how I create Cat's range of emotions, and probably 90% of it comes down to eyebrows. Tilt them up, tilt them down, raise one, or both – the emotion changes with each little nudge. Surprisingly, no one has pointed out to me that cats do not typically have eyebrows. My reply would be: https://www.instagram.com/samhaseyebrows/.

What readers & critics say

Reviews

4.8

out of 7

5.5

“This book may help a young reader learn that new friends change and that’s good.”

The Notorious RAD

Trusted reviewer

“The simplicity of the story is matched by graphically crisp illustration that captures cats’ well-known fascination with bright balls of yarn, as well as the comfort that everyday objects bring, a message little listeners will instinctively understand.”

Booklist

Critic

“Grant . . . pairs wryly understated storytelling with subtly funny cartooning in a story of friendship, sharing, and change . . .”

Publisher's Weekly

Critic

For readers who can't stop at one