Chicks with Sticks (It's a Purl Thing) [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Lenhard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2005

To the clack of their knitting needles, Scottie,Amanda, Bella, and Tay are fast becoming a circle of friends. For these girls—who couldn’t be further apart on their elite high school’s social spectrum—it’s hard to say which is a more surprising development: their new friendship or their sudden yen for yarn. Chicks with Sticks weaves together knitting terms and lore, cool projects and patterns, and timeless themes of friendship and self-discovery. Fans of the bestselling Stitch ’n Bitch, Teen Knitting Club, and fiction like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants will find this a pattern-perfect offering for teens, knitting and book clubs, and giftgiving moms and grandmas.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10–When Scotties great-aunt teaches her to knit, the 15-year-old is hooked. At KnitWit, a funky store relatively close to her Chicago home, she makes an assortment of friends. The girls take the Stark School by storm, knitting during their lunch periods and study sessions. They bond over joys and trials, each struggling with adolescent issues and with their works in progress. Scottie yearns to get closer to her artsy parents, who want to see their daughter as a fiber artist; Bella would like to be a little more rebellious; Tay wants her male friend to see her as a girlfriend; and popular Amanda struggles to hide her learning disability. These are lovable, flawed characters, and their story will be enjoyed by many girls. Project instructions are included.–Delia Carruthers, Sunset Ridge Middle School, West Jordan, UT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6--9. You don't have to be a knitter to love this book, but it helps. Readers unfamiliar with the craft will still find plenty to like. Scottie, trying to get over the death of a beloved aunt and a disruption in her relationship with her best friend, Amanda, stumbles across KnitWit, a knit shop whose owner, Alice, teaches her to knit and sooths her with just the right yarn. To Scottie's relief and delight, Amanda discovers knitting, too, and so do two very different girls from their private school--biracial Bella, whose good cheer is disdained by the cool kids, and punky Tay, whose knitting is fueled by anger. Lenhard does a terrific job of individualizing the characters (only Scottie's parents come across as stereotypes), and she also comes up with some interesting plotlines. As for the knitting, there's plenty. The descriptions may deter some, but they might just as easily entice a few readers to knit (four patterns are included). Pair with Jessie Elliots' Girls' Dinner Club (2005), which celebrates food the way this celebrates yarn. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; First Edition, First Printing edition (September 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525476229
• ISBN-13: 978-0525476221
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,276,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Knitting Itch, September 30, 2005

By 

Camille "at the BookMoot!" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chicks with Sticks (It's a Purl Thing) (Hardcover)

This book is sort of a "sisterhood of the traveling yarn" and a very enjoyable read.

Scottie cannot sleep. She has lost her beloved aunt and is grieving deeply. At the funeral a relative hands her a pair of knitting needles and teaches her to knit. Scottie is initially put off by the idea but soon finds the yarn calls to her. She finds a wonderful little knitting shop run by a remarkable woman who has a gift for matching up yarn and people. By the end of the evening three other girls from her high school have arrived at the shop and a circle of friends, "Chicks with Sticks" is born.

The girls come from very different backgrounds and are trying to find their place in high school. Both of Scottie's parents are consumed by her mother's art career and seemingly oblivious to their daughter. Amanda is the homecoming queen type but suffers from learning disabilities which undermine her confidence and her academics. The other two have their own problems and issues but they all find help and support through their knitting friendships. Despite their resolve it takes great courage for them to pull out their knitting at lunch time in the school cafeteria.

Lenhard obviously knows her knitting. She lovingly describes beautiful yarns including the colors, textures and even the smell. The girls struggle with dropped stitches and projects that go horribly wrong but their fingers have the knitting itch.

Lenhard has included knitting patterns at the end of the book. By the time you finish you will be yearning to pick up some knitting or learn how to knit.

This book sent my daughter and me to the store yesterday. We bought knitting needles and squeezed yarn balls until we found the ones that "called" to us. We have big plans.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book, October 12, 2005

By 

Michelle in Maryland "michelleinmd" (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chicks with Sticks (It's a Purl Thing) (Hardcover)

At 41, I am hardly the target audience for this book. I loved it. I got the galley copy and can't bring myself to give it away. It treads that thin line between life's reality and the fantasies we have of high school being "fun."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Kid/Knitter's Review, December 4, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Chicks with Sticks (It's a Purl Thing) (Hardcover)

I got this book yesterday and could not put it down until I was done. It is so true to knitting and friendship issues! I loved it!