Spinning a Yarn! Edmund Unwinds by Andrew Kolb

EDWARD WAS ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ADVENTURE.

FROM THE TIME HE COULD ROLL, EDMUND LOVED TO BOUNCE DOWN THE THREE STAIRS TO EXPLORE.

Little Edmund is always on a roll. No, he's not a big, black bowling ball! He is, in fact, a roly-poly little ball of yarn always on the move. Unfortunately, Edmund Loom is unmindful that as he rolls along toward adventure, he's leaving a trail, a little bit of himself, behind him.

At first Edmund manages to hold himself together well, always winding up back where he started, but as he gets bigger and braver, he ventures further away from his home basket. He wends his way, meeting all sorts of curious characters, exploring the world beyond his doorstep and loving every rotation. Even having three playful kittens batting him this way and that does not dampen his enthusiasm for novelty.

The good part of being a ball of yarn is that Edmund's adventurous travels leave a clear trail behind wherever he goes. Edmund's family, however, grows concerned, as the littlest Loom leaves more and more of himself behind as he wanders. After all, what if Edmund completely unravels? Will he still be himself? Can he be re-wound?

Andrew Korb's imaginative fantasy Edmund Unravels (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2015) knits together a warm and fuzzy look at the evergreen plot of the little runaway, and as in all such stories, when Edmund finds himself near the end of his, er, yarn, he realizes that it gets lonely out there when he's hanging on to his identity by a thread. Lighthearted illustrations by the author keep the existential angst to a minimum, with his yarn  yarn merrily rolls along. As School Library Journal puts it punningly, "Tightly woven with wordplay, this is a whimsical story of family ties.”