Kari A. Cornell

Despite the cutsie subtitle and its terrible cover design, despite the "gee, whiz!! Ain't these awfully CUTE!!!" book description, this is actually a really good pattern book if you like classic styles and basic patterns, as I do.

Nicely arranged by decade, with illustrations and pix from the original advertisements and/or pattern books, the writing is crisp and informative without being intrusive, and the pattern instructions are arranged very nicely, with clear indications of sizes and show more materials needed. And the authors carefully show (and suggest) yarn substitutions, helpfully indicating easy ways to make such changes within a pattern, as well as a good general information section at the front of the book. Nicely set-out, decently produced book that only suffers a bit from one of my pet peeves and from an aesthetic consideration/pout of mine.

My formost pet peeve about knitting pattern books is that so many of them appear to have no consideration that there might be a lot of knitters "out there" who might otherwise enjoy their patterns and want to make them up, but aren't 42" in size or less (sometimes FAR less!) While I'm a very experienced knitter and often graduate up a size or two from a pattern, there are lots of knitters who are loathe to do so, and many more who have tried and wound up with disasters. Not a good advert for your book IMO....

ANYway, that's my pet peeve. The aesthetic consideration (aka "snit") of mine? The cover is a real turn-off! Ugly, ugly, ugly, AND (shame on you, editors!!) many of the nicest patterns shown on the cover are NOT inside the pattern book! I know those pix were chosen to show a representation of knitting books from the past, but, really, if you're going to show a lovely sweater on a pattern book cover, then you really ought to include that pattern inside the book, right? If you just want to show off some of your fave pix from the period, then do that along with your initial write-up inside the book! I was very disappointed to not find one of my favorite patterns from the cover not included inside, and suspect I wasn't the only reader this happened to.

But even given those caveats, this is a very good book to keep in your home library. Most of the patterns (except for a couple of really weird 1960s and 1970s ones) are nicely basic, albeit worked in light yarn on fairly small needles, so you've been warned - many of these projects are not for the impatient. But there's a very basic cardigan for women that just cries out to be made up in some super-soft yarn, and a classic mens' v-neck cardigan, and a baby ensemble, and.... (grin) show less

Despite the cutsie subtitle and its terrible cover design, despite the "gee, whiz!! Ain't these awfully CUTE!!!" book description, this is actually a really good pattern book if you like classic styles and basic patterns, as I do.

Nicely arranged by decade, with illustrations and pix from the original advertisements and/or pattern books, the writing is crisp and informative without being intrusive, and the pattern instructions are arranged very nicely, with clear indications of sizes and show more materials needed. And the authors carefully show (and suggest) yarn substitutions, helpfully indicating easy ways to make such changes within a pattern, as well as a good general information section at the front of the book. Nicely set-out, decently produced book that only suffers a bit from one of my pet peeves and from an aesthetic consideration/pout of mine.

My formost pet peeve about knitting pattern books is that so many of them appear to have no consideration that there might be a lot of knitters "out there" who might otherwise enjoy their patterns and want to make them up, but aren't 42" in size or less (sometimes FAR less!) While I'm a very experienced knitter and often graduate up a size or two from a pattern, there are lots of knitters who are loathe to do so, and many more who have tried and wound up with disasters. Not a good advert for your book IMO....

ANYway, that's my pet peeve. The aesthetic consideration (aka "snit") of mine? The cover is a real turn-off! Ugly, ugly, ugly, AND (shame on you, editors!!) many of the nicest patterns shown on the cover are NOT inside the pattern book! I know those pix were chosen to show a representation of knitting books from the past, but, really, if you're going to show a lovely sweater on a pattern book cover, then you really ought to include that pattern inside the book, right? If you just want to show off some of your fave pix from the period, then do that along with your initial write-up inside the book! I was very disappointed to not find one of my favorite patterns from the cover not included inside, and suspect I wasn't the only reader this happened to.

But even given those caveats, this is a very good book to keep in your home library. Most of the patterns (except for a couple of really weird 1960s and 1970s ones) are nicely basic, albeit worked in light yarn on fairly small needles, so you've been warned - many of these projects are not for the impatient. But there's a very basic cardigan for women that just cries out to be made up in some super-soft yarn, and a classic mens' v-neck cardigan, and a baby ensemble, and.... (grin) show less

Retro knitting at its finest! Bored by run-of-the-mill modern patterns? Baby, here's your cure! Channel Lana Turner and walk down the street in one of these fab designs, reconfigged for the modern sweater girl's figure! Highly recommended!

I'm looking at as many gardening books as possible, now that it looks like our long-awaited gardening project at the library is finally getting off the ground.

This is one that has been on my list for a while; I briefly skimmed it after borrowing it from another library. However, once I got a review copy I was able to really delve into the projects and ideas.

The book is divided into four seasons. The introduction covers not only gardening basics, like planning your space, testing your soil, show more and caring for plants, it also discusses the environmental importance of gardening. Spring projects include seed starting, a bean pole tent, and growing potatoes. Summer projects have instructions for various plantings, stations for birds, and creating a hanging garden. Fall projects include forcing bulbs, creating window boxes, and making an indoor compost bin. There are still gardening things to do in winter; create a terrarium, grow an avocado, or grow greens in a window.

There are lengthy resources including a glossary, resources, supplies, and index. The photographs include a diverse group of children and the simple drawings have both white and brown hands. While this book has a limited number of projects, it is very detailed, both in instructions and in explaining what is happening and why. The instructions are extremely detailed and, while the projects are primarily geared towards readers living somewhere with seasons, many of them are multi-purpose and can be adapted to different climates.

Verdict: This is an excellent resource for families or older kids wanting to try gardening but with no prior experience or knowledge. I think it will spark interest in trying new things and even learning more about the environment. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781467726474; Published 2015 by Millbrook/Lerner; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library show less