The Knitting of Elizabeth Amelia

by Patricia Lee Gauch, Barbara Lavallee (Illustrator)

Elizabeth Amelia was made of wool. Her mother knitted her just the way she wanted soft and cuddly and bouncy! Everyone loved her. After Elizabeth Amelia got married, she wanted a child of her own. But how could she decide which yarn was right for her baby? Then one day she comes up with a most surprising solution. In the tradition of familiar stories like The Gingerbread Man , this original folktale brings to life a delightful character in a tale full of good humor and warmth.

Genres: Picture Books, Knitting

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Patricia Lee Gauch is an author who has written over 30 works of children's literature. In 1993, Gauch was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. She has been a resident of the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, New Jersey.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Like so many of us, Elizabeth gives and gives until she is almost gone, literally ( she's becomes a pillow in order to use yarn for others - including making her own children ). One day her husband (also, what an open minded dude to marry a woolie ) says c'mon you are knitting yourself away to nothing - and she's like oh snap I am! So her family gathers yarn and she knits herself anew. We should all take a lesson from this story, well done!

[Lady reading under the Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is simultaneously cute and odd and sad. If it's supposed to be allegorical of sacrificial love and motherhood, it makes sense. It has a lovely ending that sort of makes up for the oddities.

N didn't really care for it, so I think I liked it better than she did, because I could understand the symbolism due to experience.

[Amanda Walz · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story that would be in a similar category as the Gingerbread Man stories, great for the 8 and younger crowd.

As you know, I enjoy finding the archetypal or hidden meanings in stories. I see a hidden moral in this story as well. (Shhh. Don't tell the child! Let the story do its work quietly with the child.) The mother, Elizabeth Amelia, has been giving herself away so much she is losing herself. Mothers do that for their children, sometimes to their own detriment. But, she decides to take care of herself and re-make herself, and all is well in the end. She can go out dancing again with her husband. And, I think that this is an important moral lesson for the children as well, which we should not spell out in logical terms to our children. We can read then a story like this one and just let it sit, without dissecting it or moralizing. See, a child can know that his mother is sacrificing for him. And, that is what mothers do. But, a child can feel guilty about that. We need not hold it over their heads for shame. But, in a healing story like this one, the mother has the inner resources to re-make herself and have "a life after children." No need for a child to feel guilt.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a knitter, I had to get this one and it has a really cute story of how a live knit girl grows into a woman and then knits herself 4 children from her unraveling foot. Even though there was lots of text, my son seemed attentive throughout.

[Mary Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable book! A must read for any knitter, the drawings are just lovely and the story is beautiful. My only complaint was, the book was too short, I wanted to see more of Elizabeth Amelia!!

[Mrs. Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! So cute an loving!

[Mckinley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got because it was about knitting. I found it a bit of a bizarre story for children and mothers.
See The Story Blanket by Ferida Wolff for a similar idea done better.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

My girls and I fell in love with this book recently and I really appreciated the ending.