Thank you to NetGalley for this early look at a translated text. I loved the poetry of the writing and the art. It was a beautiful ode to thread and life. Would love to use it in the middle grade classroom to introduce the interconnectivity of humans.

Thread by Thread is a fairly simple, short picture book about the experience of a little family of mice involuntarily losing their family home, being forced to quickly uproot, escape, and land in a new place. As someone who knits, I was drawn to the cover illustration which combines actual images of knitting & yarn, with hand drawn illustrations of the little critters.

I love the way the illustrations elevate the narration, picturing things beyond the words in a lovely way that helps the reader understand the story. For example, nothing in the text speaks about a little family of mice, but the illustrations take the narration and show it through the lens of this little animal family. The imagery also heightens the text’s subtle allusion to community, as seen near the end of the book.

The book is an English translation, presumably from the original French. The way the words were formatted through the book, felt a bit like reading a poem (non-rhyming). Some pages seemed to have a bit of rhythm in the way things were phrased, but then the next page wouldn’t at all, which may be intentional, reflecting the refugee experience, though could also be due to the challenges of translation. I’d be curious to read this in the original French to see how it compares. Either way, I wasn’t too bothered by it, and I did like the book as a whole.

I appreciated the use of knitting and yarn, unraveling and re-stitching, to help the reader conceptualize the refugee experience from a different angle. I do not work with children (the target audience), but I can definitely imagine this book being a great bridge to help communicate these ideas in a creative and accessible way.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for access to an advance digital copy of this book, given in exchange for an honest review. (I read this picture book on a tablet, so I cannot comment on the physicality or experience of reading the hardcover.)

I loved how this picture book utilizes yarn and pictures of real knitting alongside pencil illustrations to bring the heartfelt story of a little mouse refugee family to life. Beautiful and moving.

What a great way to tell the story of refugees! I love the illustrations and the thread throughout. I really wish the book should have been about "mouse" instead of first person, I think that would make it more interesting for children.

Thank you to Netgalley for the free arc!

This is a very sweet story about migration-- leaving one's home and creating a new home in a new place. I love the illustrations-- the combination of drawings and use of the threads. This book could be used at different ages-- a read aloud of younger kids, but also it could be used in an upper elementary grade immigration unit when talking about push and pull factors.

The plot and writing were not that interesting, but the illustrations were cool! I loved the use of thread throughout the story.

Was passiert, wenn das Zuhause plötzlich nicht mehr Zuhause sein kann? Es zerstört wird, keinen Schutz mehr birgt.

In „Thread by Thread“ wird das mit der Analogie der gestrickten Masche erzählt. Richtig in Schlaufen gelegt wird ein einzelner Faden schnell zu einer wärmenden Fläche. Doch ebenso schnell kann diese wieder aufgelöst werden. Ein unachtsames Ziehen am losen Faden und die Maschen lösen sich eine nach der anderen wieder auf.

„Knit one, purl one. Oh no - there goes another stitch. Sometimes things can begin to unreval…”

Und so muss die Mausfamilie aus dem Haus fliehen, das sich Masche für Masche (Masche, engl. stitch) auflöst, und sich einen Zufluchtsort suchen.

Mit den letzten gestrickten Maschen lassen sie sich zu Wasser. Ein Boot. Auf wilden Wellen.

Und nach dem Ankommen, Schritt für Schritt, Masche um Masche und Reihe um Reihe wird sich mit viel kraft und Hoffnung wieder ein neues Zuhause aufgebaut.

Ein sehr poetisches Buch über Flucht (ohne den Grund für die Flucht zu benennen).

I thought that this book was really important to be read taking in to account what is happening in the world today. It was tastefully done and I really liked the way that knitting was used to tell the story.

It was well written, it was easy to read and understand and the illustrations worked so well with the story and they brought the book to life.

The illustrations were nice, bright and engaging and I read the book with my daughter who really enjoyed it and I think that this should be an addition to the classroom of any Primary School.

It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended!

Beautiful and unique artwork, with a simple but powerful story about finding a home. A gorgeous book in visuals and message.

Using knitting to tell the story of refugees is unique. The artwork is colorful and engaging, and I think children will find it visually appealing. There are opportunities to have students look closely at the illustrations for clues that extend the narrative. I'm always on the lookout for books about the refugee experience that won't be too difficult, or painful, for my students to relate to.

This was really sweet! I always love the use of mixed mediums in illustrations, and the knitting in this was gorgeous. I love the message of finding sanctuary through community and art. I think the book could've been a little longer, but I enjoyed the very simple plot. I could see a kid expecting more out of it, though. Very unique!

Part of this book is not in English, so I cannot comment on that. The book is otherwise very short, and I wasn't sure I understood the message in the book for children.

This picture book is about a very difficult topic but as you read you do not feel sad, you feel hope. I can imagine that it would hold deep meaning to the refugee children and adults a like.

The illustrations are really what caught me with this book. The incorporation of the different mediums added depth to the imagery of the story.
This picture book is an important addition for public, school and personal libraries alike for families and children to explore.

Thank you Net Galley, Alice Briere-Haquet and Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Co. for the opportunity to preview this title and the opinions expressed are my own.

Thread by Thread is expected to be released Feb. 18, 2025.

A beautiful story that is so important for today.

I love the way that this was illustrated! I think it was so clever to have the illustrations interact with the yarn. This book is also translated that adds even more to this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

There was one main thing I really liked about this book and one main thing that fell short for me.
The good thing was the imagery. It was unique how the illustrator combined real materials with drawings. It also made a beautiful contrast that worked perfectly with the book, and it added a lot. This aspect also increases the individuality of this book because combining real elements with drawn elements isn't a common artistic choice.
The thing that I didn't like so much was the plot structure. There was a plot, but it felt more like the skeleton of a plot rather than a complete one. Additionally, the story came to a very abrupt end, and I finished the book feeling confused. I think that there should have been a lot more substance to the story. However, there was definitely a good idea here. I would have appreciated character insight, context, or just *more* in terms of the writing. Rather than being an outstanding/notable piece, it was kind of just there. Adding a bit more description or detail here and there would have made this a 5-star review.

Very clever! The use of knitting as a narrative tool is inspired, the colourful wool allows us to see the urgency and thin line between security and displacement. The rebuilding metaphor with multiple spools, colours and help from a range of other characters is beautiful.

I love how the illustrations interact with photo-realistic wool!

This book is beautiful, powerful and important in today's world.

Free proof copy provided by Netgalley.

This is a very cute book, It appears the translation hasn’t been 100% completed, so hopefully that is taken care of before it is released.

I love the concept of the story and the illustrations using yarn to create parts of the pictures.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review a copy of this book.