Random House provided a copy of A Hat for Mrs. Goldman free of charge. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: A Story About Knitting and Love
By Michelle Edwards, Illustrated by G. Brian Karas
Mrs. Goldman knits hats for everyone in the neighborhood, and her little friend Sophia decorates them with pompoms. But Mrs. Goldman’s head is cold, and Sophia wants to make her a hat to keep her warm. What follows is an endearing look at Sophia’s efforts to knit Mrs. Goldman a hat of her own.
The story reflects the love and effort that goes into knitting, and the joy that comes from giving away that work. The author is a knitter, and the cover blurb says that the illustrator learned to knit in to prepare for illustrating this book. It shows. The illustrations capture the essence of beginning knitters: tongue bitten in concentration, the frustration of dropped stitches, and the exhilaration of finally finishing. AND he gets the hand position right. There are no knitting needles pointing down in this book!
You’ll want to share this story with your favorite 4-8 year old, and at the same time you’ll probably find yourself teaching that child how to knit. Lucky for everyone, the pattern for Sophia’s hat is included at the end of the book. Designed by the author and Theresa Gaffey, it’s a garter stitch hat knit on large needles, with optional pom-poms, a great first project. Let’s “stitch it forward”, knitters!
Michelle Edwards is an author and illustrator, and “big-time knitter”. She has written many books for children, as well as A Knitter’s Home Companion, a collection of essays, stories, patterns and recipes.
G. Brian Karas has written and illustrated many children’s books, including 
On the Farm, At the Market.
