Charlie
Needs a Cloak
by Tomie dePaola
As handspinners we occasionally are invited to demonstrate
what we do before a group of youngsters. It may be in a
school, a Girl Scout group, church youth group or 4-H club.
When young children are involved, it can be a difficult to explain the
process without some background.
Enter the book by Tomie dePaola titled “Charlie Needs a
Cloak”. Mr. dePaola did handspinners a grand
service when he wrote this book! He did a wonderful job of
explaining step-by-step what Charlie, the shepherd with the ratty
cloak, needed to do to make a new one. The entire process of
shearing, washing, carding, spinning, dyeing, warping, weaving, cutting
and sewing is shown and explained.
To help keep young children interested and on-topic, Mr. dePaola
includes wonderful, colorful and funny illustrations along the
way. The children will love the ornery sheep who often gets
in Charlie’s way and the naughty little mouse who steals
things when Charlie isn’t looking.
After reading this book, it is easy to demonstrate to youngsters by
referring back to the book often with phrases such as,
“remember when Charlie was
carding his wool and the ornery sheep was trying to steal it
back?”
When the kids have questions, you can always pick the book back up and
refer
to the illustrations again. The children will love it and
your job
will be much easier as you complete your demonstration. This
is a wonderful tool to include in your spinning library.
It’s also a wonderful book for the children and grandchildren
of handspinners!
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