Spin a Scarf of Sunshine - by Dawn Casey (Hardcover)

About the Book

"As the seasons change, Nari and her parents shear her sheep's fleece, and spin and dye the wool. Nari knits the yarn into a cosy yellow scarf. But as Nari grows older, her beloved scarf becomes tattered. It's time to recycle the wool into compost, with a little help from the worms."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

A lively, charming celebration of sustainability and crafting - Nari knits a scarf from her sheep's fleece.

'On a gentle slope in rolling hills stood a little house of wood and stone. There were hens and bees and apple trees, bright flowers and soft green grass. And Nari had a little lamb of her very own.'

As the seasons change, Nari and her parents shear her sheep's fleece, and spin and dye the wool. Nari knits the yarn into a cosy yellow scarf.

But as Nari grows older, her beloved scarf becomes tattered. It's time to recycle the wool into compost, with a little help from the worms.

This charming picture book will help children understand where clothing comes from, and is a joyful celebration of traditional crafts and sustainable living. The luminous illustrations are full of character, texture and seasonal detail.

Review Quotes

'Spin a Scarf of Sunshine is a book that our whole family absolutely loves. It is a new favorite for all ages, from my two-year-old brother to my nine-year-old sister, my parents, and me. In this book, you learn about how a girl named Nari cares for her baby sheep and spins its wool to make the yarn. And then she makes a scarf with it. Nari knits the scarf and enjoys wearing it and decides one day to let the scarf turn into compost. The book is nice and big and the pictures make you want to live in the country as that family does. It may also make you wish you had your own little lamb to snuggle.'
- Xavier, age 5, for Kids Book Buzz

'A family embraces the Earth and its resources in this Scottish import. In an appealing bucolic setting, a young girl named Nari feeds her lamb as they are surrounded by chicks, hens, and flowers... Delicate, colorful illustrations fill each page with pretty people, cute animals, and idyllic scenes. Nari and her sister are biracial, with an East Asian mom and White dad. An informative, easy-to-follow, pleasing lesson in readying wool for knitting.'
- Kirkus Reviews

'What a delight! I think it�s so amazing that these issues that I think of as so large and complex like fast fashion are being put into children�s books to introduce them to different approaches. It�s never too early to get our next generation of world savers' wheels turning about new solutions!'
- KidLit is Lit blog

'Casey�s picture book focuses on the beauty of a quiet cottage life full of farming and animals. She shows how clothing is created from sheep to wool to yarn to cloth in a way that shows how long it takes and how much dedication as well. The book celebrates the cycle of farm goods from animal to item and back to the soil. It also celebrates traditional crafting and a slow, full life in touch with the seasons. Her writing is simple and also offers the sounds of that activity or season. This is Lim�s first picture book. She shows the beauty of cottage life and the countryside. Her watercolors fill the pages with rich outdoor colors, from early spring green grass to the bounty of autumn to snowball fights in winter. Each season is celebrated for its colors, its feel and its beauty.'
- Imagination Soup Blog

'Have you ever read a book and just truly felt seen? Spin a Scarf of Sunshine brought me right back to childhood both in memories of carding and dying wool using gathered plants with my mom and then later as a Waldorf first grade teacher helping my students learn to knit their own scarves. My sons are now teenagers but from an early age they learned to make their own knitting needles and have knit hats, bags and scarves over the years. This beautiful book takes you through the full circle of sustainable living with the seasons. [A] beautiful book that is such a reminder of my childhood, years as a Waldorf teacher and parent.'
- Wandering Bookseller

'Casey's picture book focuses on the beauty of a quiet cottage life full of farming and animals. She shows how clothing is created from sheep to wool to yarn to cloth in a way that shows how long it takes and how much dedication as well. The book celebrates the cycle of farm goods from animal to item and back to the soil. It also celebrates traditional crafting and a slow, full life in touch with the seasons. Her writing is simple and also offers the sounds of that activity or season. This is Lim's first picture book. She shows the beauty of cottage life and the countryside. Her watercolors fill the pages with rich outdoor colors, from early spring green grass to the bounty of autumn to snowball fights in winter. Each season is celebrated for its colors, its feel and its beauty. A good beginning look at how clothing is made and what a sustainable life looks like.'
- Waking Brain Cells

'It's sunny today, for the first time in what feels like forever- so I had to feature a book with a title this bright! In Spin a Scarf of Sunshine we meet a little girl, Nari, as she helps feed a little lamb. As the lamb grows big and strong, so does its wool, which is shorn, come summer. From there we follow Nari as she goes though the steps to make that wool into a scarf. This, in itself, makes for a wonderful story. But what I love about this book is that it takes it one step further: we see her eventually put the scarf into their compost pile so that it can return to the earth as compost and help nurture the next generations of sheep. With a neat chart at the end showing the "wool cycle" from sheep to scarf, this is a book with a lot of potential in terms of class units and/or homeschooling!'
- Picturebook Playdate, Instagram

'Do you know how wool is made? This gorgeous book takes you through the process with a sweet girl named Nari! I especially love these illustrations; all the yellows make me feel so happy! Nari and her family live in a beautiful home with their many farm animals: hens, chicks, sheep, lambs. One special lamb in particular was Nari's. Eventually the lamb's fleece grew long enough to be made into clothing. The process of washing, brushing, spinning, and dyeing the wool is fascinating! When the yarn was all ready to be used, Nari knit it into a scarf for herself. As the years went by, the scarf got tattered up so it was time to part ways with it. But, instead of trashing or donating it, Nari does something a little different with her scarf that actually helps the environment!'
- Oh The Books We Love, Instagram

'This lyrical story is vividly portrayed in large, two-page drawings by artist Stila Lim. Readers will feel that they are there on the farm, too.'
- Vermont County Sampler

'Love it. My mom's a bit of a fiber artist, and I can attest that Stila Lim took pains to keep this book accurate from start to finish� What really impressed me (aside from the writing itself, which I thought did a stellar job) was the dad's shearing. We always see sheep sheared in books in pieces. A good shearing gets the wool off in one big piece, like you see in this tale. Impressive and cool and I just about love it.'
- Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal

About the Author

Dawn Casey is the author of picture books and children's story collections inspired by the wonder of the natural world. Her work has won the Gold Nautilus Award and received an Accolade from the American Folklore Society. Before becoming an author, Dawn worked in publishing and as a primary school teacher. She lives on the UK's Sussex downs, with her husband, children and a tabby cat. Stila Lim is an illustrator from South Korea. She studied Fine Art and graduated Kingston University as Master of Communication Design. She lives in Seoul with her family and tabby cat. Spin a Scarf of Sunshine is her first picture book.