Red Knit Cap Girl

by Naoko Stoop

Overview

Red Knit Cap Girl is a little girl with a big dream -- to meet the Moon.

Red Knit Cap Girl lives with her animal friends in an enchanted forest. There is so much to see and do, but more than anything Red Knit Cap Girl wishes she could talk to the Moon. Join Red Knit Cap Girl and her forest friends on a journey of curiosity, imagination, and joy as they search for a way to meet the Moon.

Gorgeously illustrated on wood grain, Red Knit Cap Girl's curiosity, imagination, and joy will captivate the hearts of readers young and old as her journey offers a gentle reminder to appreciate the beauty of the natural world around us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316210072
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/05/2012
Series:	Red Knit Cap Girl Series , #1
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Naoko Stoop's love of drawing began when she was a young child growing up in Japan. Naoko now lives and paints in Brooklyn, New York. She uses found materials including plywood and brown paper bags as her canvas. Naoko has shown her work in a variety of galleries and stores in New York and hopes that, through her artwork, she can inspire the child within everyone. Her website is www.redknitcapgirl.com.

Editorial Reviews

…beguiling…Stoop's dreamy, saturated illustrations, painted on plywood, create a roomy wonderland that welcomes any child's curiosity and sense of adventure.
—The New York Times

Pamela Paul

Red Knit Cap Girl’s eponymous headwear makes her look like an acorn or a mushroom—right at home in her forest surroundings. She longs to talk to the Moon, and Mr. Owl (whose golden, glowing eyes burning in his dark lair give the story its only tense moment) offers sage advice: “The Moon is too far to reach, but if you want, she will bend down to listen to you.” Red Knit Cap Girl enlists the help of a bear, a squirrel, and a hedgehog to carry out her plan to draw the Moon close. In Stoop’s first picture book, she paints on plywood, and the wood grain background gives each spread a gentle, wavelike feel and a luxurious sense of texture; subtly graduated hues provide quiet drama. Stoop delivers the message about ingenuity and cooperation in human, not abstract, terms: “You have made it dark enough to see me and quiet enough to hear me,” says the Moon when she appears. It’s a successful ensemble piece, gorgeously illustrated, in which each character has a part to play. Ages 3–6. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (June)

Publishers Weekly

* "Stoop's first picture book...[is] a successful ensemble piece, gorgeously illustrated, in which each character has a part to play."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"An apt choice for bedtime reading, this story affirms the necessity of turning off the light and noise of our busy world to truly recognize the everyday marvels around us."—School Library Journal

"A gentle Zen-like parable, with visual and narrative intrigue."—Kirkus Reviews

"Soothingly familiar....The text is simple and thoughtful, almost meditative, but it's the charming artwork that runs away with the show."—Booklist

"Stoop's dreamy, saturated illustrations, painted on plywood, create a roomy wonderland that welcomes any child's curiosity and sense of adventure."—The New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

"Stoop's dreamy, saturated illustrations, painted on plywood, create a roomy wonderland that welcomes any child's curiosity and sense of adventure."

The New York Times Book Review

"Soothingly familiar....The text is simple and thoughtful, almost meditative, but it's the charming artwork that runs away with the show."

Booklist

PreS-Gr 1—A little girl dressed in a red knit cap enjoys exploring the natural world with her friend White Bunny and yearns to talk to the Moon. So Red Knit Cap Girl and her forest friends stage a celebration complete with handmade paper lanterns and wait for it to come out. When a stray gust of wind blows out a lantern, a star pops out in the sky and the girl and her friends realize what they must do: blow out all the lanterns and sit silently. Indeed, the Moon appears and says, "You have made it dark enough to see me and quiet enough to hear me, Red Knit Cap Girl." This gentle tale of how to appreciate the wonders of the natural world quietly and simply is augmented by the use of wood grain as the medium on which the acrylic, ink, and pencil illustrations are drawn. The artist uses a broad spectrum of soft, seamlessly melded background colors that serve as effective counterpoints to the Red Knit Cap Girl (whose minimalist facial features recall a Joan Walsh Anglund character). An apt choice for bedtime reading, this story affirms the necessity of turning off the light and noise of our busy world to truly recognize the everyday marvels around us.—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT

School Library Journal

Red Knit Cap Girl wants to talk to the moon, even throwing a party for her, but only when the lights go out and quiet falls does it appear.The big-booted, mushroom-headed girl's bulbous silhouette, mute, mouth-less face and dotted eyes feel familiar, even though her proportions look downright strange. A crimson hat and smart jacket pop against shadowed woodlands, friendly and bright. Animal buddies (Rabbit, Bear, Squirrel and Hedgehog) help with her moon-chat mission, their kind beady eyes shining and stubby bodies playful. When Red Knit Cap Girl approaches a mystic night owl who might know how to draw the moon into a conversation, readers will bristle with interest. The owl, his eyes like embers, says enigmatically, "You will find a way." A plywood canvas creates a fantastically pliant, otherworldly atmosphere that undulates with shifting perspectives, horizons, dimensions—even surfaces. Once painted, the wood's grain assumes the look of clouds, sand, water, grass, mist, creating a bewitching forest that feels at times magical and others spooky. Nocturnal hues (dusky yellows and reds, darkening greens and ultimately a blackening blue) transport readers to nightfall and the moon's imminent arrival. Young readers might pleasantly puzzle over the moon's need for dark and silence, for peace, in order to show herself and whisper with Red Knit Cap Girl. A gentle Zen-like parable, with visual and narrative intrigue. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews