How to use this Page

Let me introduce Stanley to you.

He’s a cat.

He’s a generous friend to many.

And he loves to knit.

But what happens when he has to choose between his passion and his pals?

Stanley the Amazing Knitting Cat by Emily MacKenzie (@emilymackenzie_) is all about the dilemma you face when you have to decide what really matters to you. Stanley is wild about wool, barmy about yarn and just can’t stop the click-clack of his knitting needles. He makes all sorts of lovely jumpers, scarves and more for his friends, but when he runs out of wool just when he needs it most (for a knitting competition) what’s he to do? Will he demand his gifts back, in order to re-use the wool? Will he find a way to follow his dream and yet avoid disappointing his friends?

Emily MacKenzie’s tale of enthusiasm and eccentricity is joyous and upbeat, illustrated with all the energy Stanley puts into his knitting. Funny (knitted elephant trunk tubes, anyone?), vibrant (all the alluring colours you’d find in a wool shop) and feel-good, Stanley’s spirited creativity is infectious and inspiring.

And inspired we were! Taking our lead from Stanley and a hot air balloon he knits we decided to have a go at making our own woolly dirigibles.

Our first balloons were made by gluing lots and lots of strands of different wool onto card (we used PVA glue and card rather than paper so everything held together a little better).

When all the glue was dry we flipped the card over and drew two shapes – a large circle (by drawing around a bowl), and a basket shape – before cutting them out and joining them together with a bit of hot air balloon rope (ie more wool). Finally we drew Stanley so he could fly in our balloons as they floated gently over our kitchen table (suspended from the ceiling with a little bit of thread).

If you don’t feel like drawing your own Stanley, Emily has very kindly created one you can print off and cut out:

Right click to save and the print out!

Our next plan was a little more ambitious.We wanted to create a 3-D hot air balloon and so this time we dipped our wool in PVA glue before draping it over a suspended balloon.

Whilst the gluey wool dried (it took a couple of days – though if it’s summer where you are the process might be a whole lot speedier) we made our basket. I cut vertical lines down the side of a plastic pot and the girls then wove wool strands in and out of the tongues of plastic, gradually covering the entire pot.

We attached the basket to the woolly balloon and then popped the balloon….

It didn’t work out quite how I had hoped, but we were still smiling at the result and hopefully Stanley was too!

Whilst making our balloons we listened to:

Other activities which might work well alongside reading Stanley the Amazing Knitting Cat include:

If you liked this post you might like another post by me: Made by Raffi by Craig Pomranz & Margaret Chamberlain & a whole host of other knitting themed picture books

If you’d like to receive all my posts from this blog please sign up by popping your email address in the box below:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Disclosure: I was sent a free review copy of this book by the publisher.

It is wise to start a new year on a positive note. Many begin with a resolution. A new book excites me. But how do you choose the perfect title that will not only entertain and enthral but also convince you to pick up another, again and again? Best to begin with a tale of […]

To celebrate the publication of Wanted: Ralfy Rabbit, Book Burglar by Emily MacKenzie Bloomsbury is running a digital hunt for #RalfyRabbit. Every day from Monday 12th January until Friday 16th January a blogger will be hiding a different Ralfy image somewhere on their blog. All you have to do is find the image and tweet to be in with a chance win an exclusive Ralfy prize. Today I’m hosting the hunt!

Here is today’s clue to find the Ralfy image hidden on Playing By the Book:

If Ralfy reformed and decided to swap books rather than steal them, where on my blog would he go? Look in my side bar for the book shaped parcel!

Once you have found Ralfy Rabbit, you need to share the image on twitter tagging @kidsbloomsbury and @playbythebook along with ‘I found #RalfyRabbit’

The prize is an ‘I love books’ kit that includes Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit, Book Burglar book, mug, t-shirt, sticker sheet and signed print! You can only enter once per day, and your entry only counts if you have the right image for the right day.

Please submit your entry by 5pm (UK time) on each day.

The full line up of participating blogs is:

Monday 12th January Library Mice
Tuesday 13th January Fiction Fascination
Wednesday 14th January Wondrous Reads
Thursday 15th January The Book Sniffer
Friday 16th January Playing by the Book

On January 19th , Bloomsbury will announce the five winners via Twitter! There’s one winner for each day. The hunt is open internationally.

Still have questions? Tweet @KidsBloomsbury.

Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit, Book Burglar is the exciting debut from Emily MacKenzie. It publishes in the UK on Thursday 15th January 2015.

Some rabbits dream about lettuces and carrots, others dream of flowering meadows and juicy dandelions, but Ralfy dreams only of books. In fact, he doesn’t just dream about them, he wants to read them ALL THE TIME. Soon his obsession sends him spiralling into a life of crime. Luckily, a new friend is on hand to find a law abiding solution to his voracious appetite for all things literary.

Emily MacKenzie

Originally from Northumberland, Emily grew up beside a beautiful pine forest near a little village called Slaley. She moved to Scotland to study Graphic Design at Edinburgh College of Art and after graduating, spent seven years working in-house as a cover designer for a publishing company. In 2011 she took the plunge to go freelance in order to concentrate on her love of illustration and print making, and to pursue her dream of one day having her own children’s books published.

Emily lives in Edinburgh with her husband Alan, and hopes to one day live by the sea in a cottage with a vegetable patch, a yellow front door and a cat called Crayon.

W: www.emilymackenzie.co.uk / T: @emilymackenzie_ / F: Emily Mackenzie illustration

Download the Ralfy Rabbit activity pack here