Knit and Crochet Storybooks for Children – our favorite fiber arts stories.

Sort of a gift guide I guess? As a literary loving homeschool mama of little kids who also loves knitting and crocheting I thought it might be fun to bring you a small round up of 10+ of our favorite kid’s books about knitting and crochet.

Mind you, this is NOT a round up for books about TEACHING children to knit and crochet. These are stories. Beautiful, living books with vibrant illustrations and sweet storylines that not only incorporate our favorite knit (and a pinch of crochet) fiber arts, but also have memorable plots and lessons.

A huge part of our homeschool curriculum is reading picture books, and I’ve been keeping a list of great stories that include knitting for over a year as we’ve added to our own collection and visited our local libraries.

It’s definitely heavy on the KNITTING- I’ve only found one book that is specifically about CROCHETING, but we did find a whole bunch about yarn/knitting/crafting. (So if you’re a crocheter and aspiring author- there is space for you! We are waiting!) Whether you’re a fiber arts mama, grandma, auntie, or just wanna add some fiber to Christmas giving list, here’s our favorite children’s books about knitting!

*please note I am linking these books off of amazon, as I am an affiliate and if you choose to purchase through them I will get a little monetary kickback from them without any extra cost to you. However, definitely check out your local libraries and be on the lookout in free little libraries for these gems! I will also link any that have free read-alouds on youtube!

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EXTRA YARN – Written Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen :

This one is definitely my top pick. Annabelle find’s a magical box of extra yarn and brings color (and adventure) to her otherwise grayscale community. You can find the read-aloud of it HERE.

A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: a book about knitting and love. Written By: Michelle Edward, Illustrated by: G. Brian Karas

Mrs. Goldman teaches Sophia to knit- she’s not the best at it, but she can sure make pom poms! A book about generosity and caring for others with what you have. Read-aloud HERE.

The Mitten Tree: Written by Candace Christiansen, Illustrated by Elaine Greenstein

Another great one about using yarn crafts to care for one another. An elderly woman who’s children and grown and gone uses her craft to spread random acts of kindness-and it doesn’t go unnoticed! Read aloud can be found here.

Little Bear’s Big Sweater (alt: Jumper) by David Bedford:

A darling story with the added bonus of touch and feel pages (all the teal stripes are a velvety texture throughout the book!). An all so familiar scenario of siblings and hand-me-downs. Don’t worry, Mama Bear has got them covered!

Kinda PRICEY on amazon, but you can find it here! And the Read-aloud here!

The Mitten String, Written by Jennifer Rosner, Illustrated by Kristina Swarner:

An original Jewish folktale about a girl who knits, a deaf woman, and a piece of blue yarn.  Young Ruthie uses what she knows how to do to spread love and kindness to a mother in need. Yarn can be the string that binds us together. Read-aloud here!

The Mitten – a traditional Ukrainian folktale, told two ways by Jan Brett and also by Jim Alyesworth.

(also found ANOTHER version- there are many- and this one has a toy set that comes with it to play along with the story!)

This one is a whimsical traditional story about a grandmother who knits her grandson a set of mittens and turns out, EVERYONE thinks they are just the coziest. Both versions feature beautiful knitwear throughout. Brett’s has gorgeous illustrations and Aylesworth make the story full of giggles with his sillier animal renderings.

Jan Brett’s read-aloud here and the other sillier one, here.

The Hat by Jan Brett

Also by Jan Brett (always a delight for elaborate illustrations!), Hedgie finds himself some of Lisa’s handknit winterwear and starts a new farmyard trend. You can also find other books in Hedgie’s series here. Read- aloud found here.

Ned the Knitting Pirate written by Diane Murray, illustrated by Leslie Lammle

This is a fun one if you’re looking for a less winter-y, more of a year round story. Bonus points if you’re a fan of pirates like us! Ned’s a little different than the other pirates, but they learn to see the value in his favorite hobby too! Read aloud can be found here.

Sweater Weather by Matt Phelan

This one is short on words, but all the mamas can relate! Poor mama bear spends all day getting her babies bundled up ready to go out in the cold and once she gets everyone sorted into their knitwear? It’s bedtime. Watch the read-aloud!

Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol

Also relatable: quiet knitting time can be hard to come by. A grandmother has to go to the far reaches of the universe to try and find some…and even then, there is always someone. Quirky, with a sweet lesson. Read-aloud here.

Penguin in Love by Salina Yoon

Kinda a quirky story, but sweet in that the love of knitting brings Penguin and Bootsy to finding love themselves. Read Aloud here.

Crafty Llama by Mike Kerr, illustrated by Renata Liwska

A story about finding the value of crafting and bringing friends together through making. Not only knit specific, but more of a “maker” story! Read-aloud here!

Daisy’s Grandma Loves to Crochet by Tiffany and Hannah Brown McKay

Last but not least, and the ONLY crochet specific book I’ve been able to find. A cute, repetive story about Daisy Grandma- what will she crochet today!? A great way to support someone in our own crochet community too as it was written by @daisyfarmcrafts ! Read aloud (with Daisy Farm Crafts!) here.

IF you’ve made it this far, I’d be curious to know if I missed any of YOUR favorites!? If you’re interested I’ve bundled all these recommendations into one easy list on my Amazon Storefront, but wherever you’re shopping/reading/listening to them from- Happy reading!