Picture This: Extra Yarn

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Annabelle finds a box of colorful yarn. Each time she finishes knitting something, she finds she has extra yarn. Soon the entire town wears sweaters she has made with her never-ending yarn. When she runs out of people to clothe, she moves on to animals, mailboxes, and houses. Word spreads of this wondrous yarn, and an archduke shows up, offering exorbitant sums of money for th e box. And well, maybe I should leave it at that. The folk tale-like story is accompanied by Jon Klassen’s stylized gouache-ink-digital illustrations (the bear may look familiar from his recent book, I Want My Hat Back). One of the best things about this book is the timing and pacing. Klassen and Barnett maximize the humor and dead pan moments of the story with well-placed illustrations and well-phrased text.

For example:

In this scene, Nate makes fun of Annabelle, and she says, "You're just jealous." He replies, "No I'm not,"

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But it turned out he was.

(Note that my pictures are kind of dull in color/brightness.)

"The boy I loved didn't know I existed. Then again, he was obsessed with Camus, so he didn't know if any of us existed."

-David Levithan

"Sir Richard, life is a game in which the player must appear ridiculous."

-The Dowager Countess, Downton Abbey