Lester's Dreadful Sweaters

July 30, 2012
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.

Starred review from July 1, 2012
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)

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October 1, 2012

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

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2012
Grades K-3 What kid hasn't been on the receiving end of a truly hideous sweater? After Cousin Clara's house is consumed by a crocodile, sheand her knitting needlestake up residence at Lester's house, dooming him to a life of stitched misery. Fastidious Lester likes everything just so, from his socks aligned below the knee to his perfectly knotted tie. So when Cousin Clara presents him with a shapeless, hooded mustard-yellow sweater dotted with purple pom-poms, he is less than thrilled, especially when his father says, He'll wear it to school. Quick-knitting Clara presents a parade of sweaters, each uglier than the last, and it ultimately takes a special sort to appreciate their value. Campbell's muted, textured pencil-and-crayon illustrations extend the story's darkish humor (Lester clutched a large pair of scissors, and his hands were covered with red yarn ), particularly through facial details like Cousin Clara's caterpillar eyebrows, mole, and wicked grin. Kids are gonna chuckle at this one, even as they swear they don't know what happened to Grandma's last birthday gift.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
Lester's displaced elderly cousin Clara (her "cottage was consumed by a crocodile") moves in and begins knitting ugly sweaters. As soon as Lester gets rid of one, Clara replaces it. Unnecessary plot points, irritating asides, and too many adjectives threaten to unravel this farcical tale, but the clever conclusion ties things up nicely. The pencil-crayon drawings are rendered in an appropriately dingy palette.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)