A Knot Is Not a Tangle

Combining step-by-step details with a tender look at an elder passing on generational information, this extended account by Nayeri (Drawn Onward) traces a child’s learning the art of Persian rug-making. The narrator and Grandma share breakfast on the fraying rug that she once made with her own grandmother: “And now it’s our turn.” First the two visit Grandpa in the field, where he gives them sheared wool that the two wash, card, spin, and dye. A plan is drawn on graph paper (“In our city of Isfahaan, the popular designs look like tiles or gardens in a palace”), and work on the loom commences. While the youth insists on perfection, Grandma pulls out a knot halfway through, calling it “the Persian flaw,” and adding , “Nothing in this world is perfect, and nothing should pretend to be. Our job is only to make knots out of the tangles.” Though told in present tense, the narration has the feel of family lore burnished by years of reflection. Greens, pinks, reds, and teals dominate intensely hued watercolors from Stamper (The Greatest), which place the family in a pastoral landscape. A concluding author’s note offers more about the 2,500-year-old art. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary & Media. Illustrator’s agent: Lori Kilkelly, LK Literary. (Nov.)