The Never-Ending Sweater

A loving intergenerational relationship underlies Welch’s descriptive telling of an object that reminds its wearer of home. Asked to make Peter, portrayed with brown skin, “a VERY BIG SWEATER,” the child’s white-presenting grandmother knits “sturdy cuffs that would keep out the dampest weather, and a long body that would survive the most exciting of adventures,” producing an oversize purple wool sweater. It makes Peter feel “like he was wearing a royal cape,” and he wears it clamming and cranberry-picking alongside her as he continues to grow in the seaside village where they live. By the time it finally fits, Peter is ready to see the world, and he sets off with the sweater, sending back stories of livestock, sheep shearing, and knitting. Though “it was a long time before he made his way home,” Leung’s earth-toned gouache, pencil, and digital illustrations slowly signal how the subtly patterned sweater roots Peter to the place, and, eventually, promises to do the same for another. Ages 3–5. (May)