First, the facts:
Title: Knitted Dinosaurs: 15 Prehistoric Pals to Knit from Scratch
Author: Tina Barrett
Published by: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2011
Pages: 127
Type: Fun little toys.
Chapters:
(No real chapters, just the patterns)
The In-Depth Look:
I was never much for dinosaurs when I was a kid. I had a hard enough time with monsters like King Kong or the Cyclops without thinking about honest-to-god monsters that used to be REAL.
But this collection? It could make me change my mind.
It doesn’t hurt, of course, that they’re all so … cute. And made of yarn. Even the scary ones aren’t quite so … scary when they’re made out of yarn.
The author writes: “When I was first approached about working on a book of knitted dinosaurs, by coincidence, my youngest daughter was completely obsessed with the film Jurassic Park and anything else with a prehistoric theme. We were surrounded by dino books … I felt well qualified (one step away from being an expert paleontologist in fact) to tackle the challenge of creating some woolly dinosaurs with my own needles and yarn…. Each character suddenly woke up and came alive the moment I finished modeling its eyes. By the end, I became quite attached to each and every one.”
They’re good sizes for playing, too. The T-Rex, for example, measures 18 inches. So, they’re not tiny little knits that are going to get lost under the couch.
Obviously I can’t tell you how accurate they are, how much they look like the real thing. (Though I imagine that pre-fossilized dinosaurs didn’t dress in brightly-striped yarn.) What I can tell you is that they look like an engaging bunch of creatures. And they come with a helpful pronunciation guide at the back.
The photography is fun, too. The individual shots are posed against a white background so you can appreciate each species’ personality. The group shots? Well, they’re my favorites, because these look like they can be a rowdy bunch. The mild-mannered dinos at the front are sitting nicely, while the bigger ones are getting into fights in the back.
But, what can you expect with a bunch of dinosaurs? At least they’re a FUN bunch of dinosaurs.
Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.
This review copy was kindly donated by the publisher. Thank you!
