An original tale begins with a little girl named Annabelle finding a box of magic yarn that never runs out. She knits sweaters for everyone she knows, and then she knits “sweaters for things that didn’t even wear sweaters.” Soon everything in her once dismal town, from bare winter trees to houses and cars, wears a nubbly coat of color. Word spreads and it isn’t long before an archduke arrives, wanting to buy the box of yarn. Annabelle politely declines. So the archduke steals it. But when he gets back home and opens the box, it’s empty. “You will never be happy again!” he curses, thinking of Annabelle as he throws the box out his castle window. But it’s a magic box, and it knows exactly to whom it belongs. Mac Barnett’s whimsical, wonderfully paced story spins its own kind of magic, leaving plenty of room for children to decide on an explanation. Barnett’s folkloric outing is paired with masterfully understated illustrations by Jon Klassen—even the colors of the yarn are muted, although still a striking contrast to the shades of gray that defined Annabelle’s town before the box’s arrival. (Ages 4–8)

This is an extraordinary new picture book about a little girl who cocoons her cold, grey town in joy and warmth ... and brightly coloured yarn! On a cold, dark day in a dull, grey town, little Annabelle discovers a box of brightly coloured yarn. She knits a cosy jumper to keep herself nice and toasty warm and finds, to her surprise, that she still has yarn left over. So she decides to knit her dog a jumper too but - hang on a second - she STILL has extra yarn! Annabelle knits and knits and, soon, she's blanketed the entire town in a rainbow of colour, knitting away the dreary iciness that grips it. Her prodigious status spreads far and wide. It doesn't take long for the evil Archduke to set his beady eyes upon Annabelle's magical box of yarn but, little does he know, you have to have a little bit of magic inside your heart for it to work ... This is the perfect marriage of a beautiful, timeless story and stunning illustrations from a dream duo, Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. Jon Klassen was named a Caldedcott Honor Recipient for his illustrations for this book. Rising star Jon Klassen's debut picture book, I Want My Hat Back, was listed as one of the New York Times' Best Illustrated Books of 2011. You can keep your eyes peeled for a very familiar-looking bear in Extra Yarn!