Lester's Dreadful Sweaters

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.

Author: K. G. Campbell
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Published: 09/01/2012
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.86lbs
Size: 10.28h x 8.39w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781554537709
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.9
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 154693 / Lester's Dreadful Sweaters


Award: Golden Kite - Winner
Award: Ezra Jack Keats Book Award - Honor Book
Award: Bluebonnet Awards - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2012
Publishers Weekly 07/30/2012 pg. 64
Booklist 09/01/2012 pg. 128
School Library Journal 10/01/2012 pg. 90
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 11/01/2012
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2013 pg. 24 - Below Average, With Minor Flaw

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.

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