Lester's Dreadful Sweaters

by K. G. Campbell, K. G. Campbell (Illustrator), Keith Campbell (Illustrator)

Overview

Everything went well enough at first when Cousin Clara unexpectedly came to stay with Lester's family. "Clara didn't make unsavory noises or rearrange Lester's Lost and Found collection. All she did was sit and knit." However, things quickly take a turn when Clara presents Lester with a sweater she knitted for him. Not a normal sweater. A misshapen, yellow with purple pom-poms sweater. A perfectly dreadful sweater! Lester is mortified to be seen in it. Luckily, it is destroyed in a mysterious accident later that day. But then Clara surprises him with another sweater, equally ghastly. When it, too, meets an unfortunate end, Clara knits another one, and then another to replace that one after its tragic demise. Is there nothing Lester can do to stop Cousin Clara's never-ending supply of hideous sweaters? Author and illustrator K. G. Campbell's unconventional picture book tale is brought to hilarious life by his drawings of uncommonly ugly sweaters. With its offbeat humor and terrific use of language, it would make a superb choice for a lively read-aloud. Though the fastidious Lester with his exceedingly good manners is a bit unusual, the dilemma he faces is a fairly common one, and this book could launch a classroom discussion about young children's own experiences with receiving unwanted gifts, and the trade-offs that are made within families between honesty and kindness. It would make an inventive resource for a lesson on hobbies or crafts, or for children's own craft projects as well.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554537709
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	09/01/2012
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	323,918
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Keith Gordon Campbell was educated in an old, turreted school with ghosts and secret passages and stuff. There he learned to love all things ghoulish, ghastly and rather gothic. He wasn't one for chasing after balls or playing leapfrog; he preferred, even then, to find quiet corners where he could write peculiar stories and illustrate them with funny characters. Keith is now a full-time author/illustrator and lives in California.

Keith Gordon Campbell was educated in an old, turreted school with ghosts and secret passages and stuff. There he learned to love all things ghoulish, ghastly and rather gothic. He wasn't one for chasing after balls or playing leapfrog; he preferred, even then, to find quiet corners where he could write peculiar stories and illustrate them with funny characters. Keith is now a full-time author/illustrator and lives in California.

Editorial Reviews

Although newcomer Campbell starts out with an excess of alliterative whimsy (“Cousin Clara’s cottage was consumed by a crocodile.... added crocodiles to his list of Suspicious Stuff Starting with C”), he resolves Lester’s sweater problem so handily that readers will forgive him. It’s Cousin Clara who knits the dramatically awful, humiliating sweaters of the title. Lester’s parents compel him to wear them, and Campbell gleefully draws them. One is a “less-than-pleasant yellow” hoodie with a trailing sleeve and purple pom-poms (“It had holes where it shouldn’t and none where it should”); another has knitted feathers and striped feet. Campbell’s artwork calls to mind that of Sophie Blackall, with muted colors, soft outlines, and figures who appear polite yet diabolical (there are several scenes of sweater murder). When a group of performing clowns fall in love with the sweaters (“ ‘So stylish!’ they cried, ‘so fresh, so inspired!’ ”), Lester is able to offload his entire collection—and Cousin Clara. Younger children may be taken aback, but older readers will thoroughly enjoy Campbell’s canny blend of irony and sweet-heartedness. Ages 4–8. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Lively writing is peppered with clever alliteration and wordplay.—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

... readers will thoroughly enjoy Campbell's canny blend of irony and sweet-heartedness.—Publishers Weekly

Kids are gonna chuckle at this one ...—Booklist

The illustrations are delightful ...—School Library Journal

Campbell's witty and wordy text ... plays out every child's nightmare fantasy of showing up at school in The Wrong Thing.—The New York Times

[Campbell's] writing is remarkable. Clipped and catchy. ... The book works because everything is understated to a beautiful degree.—Elizabeth Bird, SLJ.com

From the Publisher

Gr 1-3—When her cottage is devoured by a crocodile, Cousin Clara comes to stay with Lester and his family. The problem is, no one is really sure if she's even related. She brings along a severe lack of talent in knitting, clickety-clicking the most dreadful sweaters for Lester, a rather odd boy in his own right. Her first creation is a bilious yellow number with purple pom-poms and sleeves of uneven length. Feigning a tepid "thank you," Lester is horrified when Dad announces that he will wear the sweater to school the next day. Things do not go well. Later, the yellow sweater mysteriously meets its demise in the washing machine, but Cousin Clara makes another one, clickety-click, clickety-click. This one is pink with upside pockets. It suffers a similar fate, being shredded by the lawn mower. But, Cousin Clara knits another. And another, and another. Soon, there is a mountain of dreadful sweaters that Lester tries to destroy. But, clickety-click, Cousin Clara has another sweater for him, a birdlike design, just in time for a classmate's party. Lester is mortified wearing it, but as it turns out, the party clowns love it. Cousin Clara finds employment with the circus, where her "talent" is finally appreciated. Rendered in pencil crayon, the illustrations are retro in design and palette, suggesting the 1930s. The facial expressions are humorous, especially Lester's mom's. The illustrations are delightful, but this odd tale may find a limited audience.—Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA

School Library Journal

Cousin Clara, who may or may not be related to the rest of the family, knits horrid sweaters at a breakneck speed. Clara, her tiny hat perched on her impossibly oval head, an innocent-looking basket of knitting in hand, arrives ready to recover from an unfortunate crocodile attack. So begins this over-the-top story of lost-and-found collections, journals of "Suspicious Stuff Starting with C" and fantastic sweaters. Clara does not knit run-of-the-mill ordinary cardigans and pullovers. Starting with a "less-than-pleasant yellow and smothered with purple pom-poms" hooded number, Clara insists on cranking out one absurd creation after another. Wearing these monstrosities to school proves embarrassing for Lester. After each humiliating day, the sweater of the day ends up shrunken, shredded, unraveled, pecked to pieces or stolen. Each colored-pencil illustration cranks up the dark humor, culminating with Lester covered in dripping red yarn, scissors in hand, while Clara wickedly smiles at the crime scene. Each detailed spread is filled with creepy shadowing and fabulous eye contact among the many characters. Lively writing is peppered with clever alliteration and wordplay. Lucky for Lester, a troupe of clowns appreciates Clara's creations. Children forced to wear horrid clothing made by well-meaning relatives will laugh in sympathy with Lester. If Edward Gorey and Polly Horvath had a literary love child, this would be it. (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews