Red Berry Wool

Lalo the lamb wants to have a bright sweater like the one the shepherd boy wears but Lalo has a very hard time washing, spinning, and dyeing his own wool

PreSchool-Grade 2-When Lalo, a curious lamb, admires his young shepherd's beautiful, bright red sweater, he decides to make himself one using his own fleece. Learning that he needs to wash, spin, dye, and knit his wool propels him into a day filled with adventure and danger. He washes himself in the drinking pond but slips and almost drowns, spins himself off a cliff, and attempts to dye his wool by rolling in red berries only to be bitten by a snake. The shepherd boy patiently rescues the sweet-faced lamb from each escapade. When Lalo asks his mother to define "knit," so he can complete the formula for making a sweater, she tells him "Knit means to bring things together." Returning to the drinking pond and his new friend, Lalo sits happily with the boy while the sunset turns the meadow berry-red. Patchwork fields and curlicued sheep are portrayed in acrylic paintings that enhance the tender story. Jewel-toned illustrations in a variety of sizes and shapes depict a wonderland of textured skies, hills, and pond. An affectionate tale of caring.
Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A simple, sweet story about care, friendship, and literal-mindedness. A boy watches a flock of sheep on a farm with the red barns and checkerboard fields of long ago. Lalo, the very smartest lamb, loves the boy's berry-red wool sweater, which Lalo's mother says comes from their very own wool. Lalo wants his wool to look like that, and his mother tells him the steps for making a sweater, which Lalo memorizes: ``Wash the wool. Spin it. Dye the wool. Knit it.'' Lalo tries to wash his wool in the pond, spins himself over a slope, tries to dye the wool by rolling in the berries far from home, and ends up thorn-covered and bitten by a snake. The boy always rescues Lalo, and when Lalo's mother tells him that ``Knit means to bring things together,'' the smart lamb settles down next to the boy for storytelling and sunset-watching. The bright, clear acrylics of Coffey's debut are wonderfully textured, while the images are full of pattern and sunlight, as homespun and decorative as a well-loved quilt. Funny, touching, and evocative. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Lalo the lamb admires the shepherd boy's red sweater. When Mother explains that it's made from sheep's wool, Lalo determines to make one for himself. His mother recalls the procedures: wash, spin, dye, knit. Step one is a dip in the pond, but Lalo falls in and has to be fished out by the shepherd. For step two, Lalo spins around and around in the meadow--till he tumbles over and lands on a thorn bush. When he's thorn-free (and thoroughly "spun"), he searches for berry bushes to dye his wool. While rolling in the bushes, he's bitten by a snake and has to be rescued again. Finally, there's the knitting, when things are brought together: Lalo sits peacefully beside the shepherd, admiring a sunset that has turned everything berry red. Acrylic paintings on gesso-textured paper colorfully convey the affection, adventure, and humor of this delightful analysis of the wool process, told from a lamb's perspective and reflecting the author's experience in Bolivian sheep meadows. A natural for teaming with Tomie dePaola's classic Charlie Needs a Cloak (1973). Ellen Mandel