Woolly Jumper: The Story of Wool

Very occasionally a reviewer takes up an early information book and finds near perfection. This was my experience with Woolly Jumper. With great flair and imagination author and illustrator take very young children, under fives, on the journey wool makes from being a sheep’s coat to becoming a woolly garment. The text has the rhythmical energy of a nursery rhyme; the repetition of ‘That came from the sheep, That stood in the field, And ate the grass’ helps children keep constantly in mind the connection between creature and product. The colourful, dynamic illustrations combine with the text to interest and inform. Workers are shown shearing, classifying, pressing and carrying the wool. Then we see the machine processes at the mill – scouring, carding and combing. Double spread pictures are large and clear and the animals are delightfully realised.

There is carefully thought out use of environmental print: trade names on vehicles, notices on the woolshop door and ‘AAAM’ to signify a fleece is Triple A merino wool. The excellent, detailed notes will help adults to answer the questions such an exciting book is bound to inspire.