Hello, Crochet Friends! written by Jonah Larson |
Hello Crochet Friends!: Making Art, Being Mindful, Giving Back: Do What Makes You Happy is one part autobiography, one part inspirational, and one part crafts. It includes topics of international adoption, school behavioral problems, and the importance of finding one's passion.
Jonah Larson is an 11 year old crocheting phenom. I came to know about him from looking for crochet patterns and tutorials on the internet. This young man has a gift with crochet. His talent is nearly unbelievable. Watching his little hands fly as he works on his current projects is mesmerizing to me. And all the more impressive when I learned a bit more about him.
Jonah was adopted by the Larsons when he was a baby. He began crocheting at age 5 by accident - when a single crochet hook was found in a bag of items. It became clear very quickly that crochet was his thing.
I work with children in a school that is focused on addressing their behavioral and learning difficulties. I run a small crochet club, teaching them just the basics (sharing my limited skills), because I know that crochet is a wonderful coping skill for some children. I ordered Jonah's book so that our students could read about a child who loves crochet.
I was moved to tears when I received the book and read how Jonah also struggled with significant disruptive behaviors in school and how crochet helped him. And not only has crochet helped him manage his behaviors in school, he is using his art to give back to those in need in the country he was born. An astounding story and life lesson for all of us.
What this book is:
- an age-appropriate picture book about an 11 year old who was adopted from an Ethiopian orphanage
- a book that is written in a gentle, uplifting, honest and encouraging voice
- an inspirational book - encouraging everyone to find their passion and do it
- a helpful book for teachers and school staff - showing the positive results of thinking outside the box and helping students identify what calms and encourages them
- an encouraging book for children who struggle with behaviors - helping them to feel as though they are not alone and that something can change
- this is not a book of crochet patterns
- this is not a crochet tutorial
From the Amazon listing: "Hello, Crochet Friends! is the first title in the KWiL Publishing's Rock Star Kids series of books about young people doing incredible things in the world". Personally, I am looking forward to future books in the series!