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A Stitch in Time
NPR's Best Book of 2018
An orphan grapples with her unpleasant aunt and the even more unpleasant idea of moving to Boston in this poignant middle-grade debut that handles loss and renewal.
"Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, Donut’s story is gritty, hopeful and ultimately all about the various ways that love shows up. I loved it.”--Kathi Appelt, author of the Newbery Honor and National Book Award finalist novel The Underneath
" Taxidermy? What better journey to uncover the true stuff of character! A classic, indelible debut."--Rita Williams-Garcia, author of the Newbery Honor novel One Crazy Summer
Donut is an eleven-year old geography buff who keeps her taxidermied mice hidden in her late mother’s hope chest. Her pops passed away, leaving her an orphan. Aunt Agnes has moved in, bringing along her lumpy oatmeal, knitting, and a plan to drag Donut off to Boston forever.
Donut stands to lose her friends, her village, her home, the woods, and walks where the memories of her pops are stored up.
While Donut dodges the ache of missing her pops, she and her best friend Tiny plan how to keep her where she belongs.
A Stitch in Time by Daphne Kalmar is shot through with gorgeous, evocative language, and gets right to Donut’s heart.
An orphan grapples with her unpleasant aunt and the even more unpleasant idea of moving to Boston in this poignant middle-grade debut that handles loss and renewal.
"Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, Donut’s story is gritty, hopeful and ultimately all about the various ways that love shows up. I loved it.”--Kathi Appelt, author of the Newbery Honor and National Book Award finalist novel The Underneath
" Taxidermy? What better journey to uncover the true stuff of character! A classic, indelible debut."--Rita Williams-Garcia, author of the Newbery Honor novel One Crazy Summer
Donut is an eleven-year old geography buff who keeps her taxidermied mice hidden in her late mother’s hope chest. Her pops passed away, leaving her an orphan. Aunt Agnes has moved in, bringing along her lumpy oatmeal, knitting, and a plan to drag Donut off to Boston forever.
Donut stands to lose her friends, her village, her home, the woods, and walks where the memories of her pops are stored up.
While Donut dodges the ache of missing her pops, she and her best friend Tiny plan how to keep her where she belongs.
A Stitch in Time by Daphne Kalmar is shot through with gorgeous, evocative language, and gets right to Donut’s heart.
172 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 19, 2018
24 people are currently reading
767 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
June 26, 2018
One of the things I loved most about Kalmar’s A Stitch in Time was the quiet yet fierce friendship between 11 year old Donut and Tiny (who is huge). When Donut’s father dies, her only relative left is Aunt Agnes who wants to take her to Boston. What helps Donut work through her pain and grief is the understated but steadfast support from her friendship with Tiny, her godfather Sam (a taxidermist), and the members of her Vermont village. The village is her family. I felt that this beautifully written story took me on a journey to village life in Vermont in the 1920s. The setting —vividly presented — is historical. I admired the way Kalmar shows us Donut exploring life, death and rebirth through her own novice taxidermy. While I love historical novels, they must also have characters that I care about and can identify with. This novel has both!
July 1, 2018
I adored this beautiful, timeless story about Donut and the challenge of having to leave home. Donut's connection to the only place she knows, her tiny town in Vermont, is palpable, which makes the forced wrenching of her from that place, after her father's accidental death, so painful. This slight historical novel holds equal appeal to adults and children, in my opinion. There's so much to savor in the language and setting. A gorgeous debut.
July 5, 2018
Fantastic! Donut's whole village is so alive that that one feels like Donut’s traveling ultra-ego. Beautiful language and images give fullness to this novel loved by my grandkids. A great read aloud to boot.
February 17, 2019
Remember being ten years old and wanting adults out of your business?
And the field mice watch her back
In Stitch,set in 1927, orphan-girl Donut Sedgewick runs away and lives successfully in the woods in Walden-esque communion with nature. She's rebelling against the inevitability of being taken from her Vermont farm-village home after her father's death. First-time author Daphne Kalmar captures Donut's love of nature and her capability in it. Kalmar also faithfully depicts grieving without either shortchanging the process or letting it overshadow the rest of the story.
Engineering-brained readers (like me) will recognize and appreciate the craftspeople in the story. Donut's father was a tinkering inventor, and her favorite adult is an absent-minded taxidermist.
Kalmar's author bio notes that she's a former 20-year-veteran elementary school teacher who owned 75 pairs of galoshes so she could take her classes on nature field trips with dry feet :D
And the field mice watch her back
In Stitch,set in 1927, orphan-girl Donut Sedgewick runs away and lives successfully in the woods in Walden-esque communion with nature. She's rebelling against the inevitability of being taken from her Vermont farm-village home after her father's death. First-time author Daphne Kalmar captures Donut's love of nature and her capability in it. Kalmar also faithfully depicts grieving without either shortchanging the process or letting it overshadow the rest of the story.
Engineering-brained readers (like me) will recognize and appreciate the craftspeople in the story. Donut's father was a tinkering inventor, and her favorite adult is an absent-minded taxidermist.
Kalmar's author bio notes that she's a former 20-year-veteran elementary school teacher who owned 75 pairs of galoshes so she could take her classes on nature field trips with dry feet :D
July 2, 2018
The main character of Kalmar's wonderful story is Donut (she prefers her nickname to her real name) and she is a feisty little girl, though grief-stricken, as her father has just died. Her mother had died much earlier and that has left Donut an orphan. Her aunt comes up to stay with her but ultimately, take her back to Boston. This young girl is used to the woods, and enjoys the friendship of a taxidermist who has taught her that art, and with her other friends adventures in the woods all around her Vermont landscape. At times comic- she keeps cooking up ideas to run away and not be taken from her home, and others poignant, she is truly a young girl at sea in loss, she is a well-drawn character that you come to love as you move through the pages. A great read for middle schoolers!
July 6, 2018
1920's Vermont and eleven yr. old Dorothy is struggling to deal with the death of her father. Now an orphan, she must remain in the care of her Auntie Agnes. Donut, what she insists on being called, is asked to leave her town and move to Boston, with her Aunt, but in doing so, she would have to say goodbye to her friends, her taxidermy hobby, and her frequent poker games. Donut wants nothing to do with it, so she takes her dad's boat runs away. This charming, poignant, and coming of age story follows Donut through all the stages of grief all the while exploring the challenges of the woods, the weather, and the hard knocks of growing up. This tale is for anyone who enjoys nostalgic fiction like The Box-Car Children.
July 2, 2018
Donut is a vivid character and I was enthralled with her adventures. The setting was terrific, too!
March 4, 2018
Loved Donut—what a fun and bright child she is. Plus a little adventure, drama and a whole lot of love. Got a bit choked up at the end. Received at ALA Midwinter 2018.
May 13, 2018
Eleven-year-old Dorothy “Donut” Sedgewick has recently lost her father. (Her mother died long before the start of the story) Now her Aunt Agnes has moved in to look after her, and has plans to move the two of them to Boston where Donut can attend the school Agnes and her sister, Jo, run.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that Aunt Agnes serves lumpy oatmeal for breakfast and disapproves of Donut’s taxidermy hobby, now she wants to take Donut away from everything she’s ever known. And even Sam, the local taxidermist can’t convince Agnes to stay. So as a last resort, Donut takes her father’s folding boat and runs away to a cabin on the other side of the lake, hoping Aunt Agnes will give up and go back to Boston without her.
There’s something very raw and real about the way Donut handles her grief over her father’s death. She won’t admit it to herself, but she desperately tries to hang onto her father’s memory: his shed full of inventions, his spot at the weekly poker game, his friend Sam the taxidermist… And even when Agnes tries to make a peace offering - the very Atlas Donut had been saving up for - Donut refuses to let this woman into her life.
With beautiful writing and excellent use of metaphors, I was incapable of putting this one down. Donut is a fun, clever, and at times believably flawed character. A tomboy in the late 20s, hanging out with boys and stitching up dead animals for fun. A huge part of her life has just changed, and now it’s about to change even more, and it frightens her deep inside, but she covers it up with anger; closing herself off, making rash decisions. It won’t be until she’s worked her way through the stages of grief that she’ll finally be able to move on.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that Aunt Agnes serves lumpy oatmeal for breakfast and disapproves of Donut’s taxidermy hobby, now she wants to take Donut away from everything she’s ever known. And even Sam, the local taxidermist can’t convince Agnes to stay. So as a last resort, Donut takes her father’s folding boat and runs away to a cabin on the other side of the lake, hoping Aunt Agnes will give up and go back to Boston without her.
There’s something very raw and real about the way Donut handles her grief over her father’s death. She won’t admit it to herself, but she desperately tries to hang onto her father’s memory: his shed full of inventions, his spot at the weekly poker game, his friend Sam the taxidermist… And even when Agnes tries to make a peace offering - the very Atlas Donut had been saving up for - Donut refuses to let this woman into her life.
With beautiful writing and excellent use of metaphors, I was incapable of putting this one down. Donut is a fun, clever, and at times believably flawed character. A tomboy in the late 20s, hanging out with boys and stitching up dead animals for fun. A huge part of her life has just changed, and now it’s about to change even more, and it frightens her deep inside, but she covers it up with anger; closing herself off, making rash decisions. It won’t be until she’s worked her way through the stages of grief that she’ll finally be able to move on.
July 7, 2018
I loved this book! Wonderful writing. Vivid setting. And Donut is such a passionate, often prickly, and yes, also tenderhearted character. A story with a classic feel.
August 29, 2018
I was excited and surprised by the depth of this story and the creative way it was told by Daphne Kalmar. It deserves another star but I don't want to give the author the feeling that she is amazing and has achieved the best and can now relax.
She needs to carry on with the craft that she seems to really understand....writing for the young and young at heart. In Kalman's debut novel, A Stitch in Time, (not a wrinkle), Dorthy, aka Donut is an eleven year old you will want to follow. Or maybe a totally different person with the same feisty, strong, loving nature that made Donut a very believable Tween. The secondary characters were well developed too. The adults acted like adults and the children were children.
I'm intrigued with this "new to me" line of books Macmillan Publishing called Feiwel and Friends Books., "a publisher of innovative children’s fiction and nonfiction literature, including hardcover, paperback series, and individual titles. The list is eclectic and combines quality and commercial appeal for readers ages 0-16. The imprint is dedicated to “book by book” publishing, bringing the work of distinctive and outstanding authors, illustrators, and ideas to the marketplace. Feiwel and Friends is defined and guided by our principle: Our books are friends for life."
https://us.macmillan.com/mackids/
Unfortunately, the illustrator of the book's cover was not easy to identify and credit. Yet it is because of the very attractive cover that I plucked it off the display case in the children's space at my local library. The author gratefully thanks Karl James Mountford for the gorgeous cover in her acknowledgments as well as the Feiwel team. I should thank my librians for introducing me to new author that I will want to follow.
This book will definitely be a friend for life.
She needs to carry on with the craft that she seems to really understand....writing for the young and young at heart. In Kalman's debut novel, A Stitch in Time, (not a wrinkle), Dorthy, aka Donut is an eleven year old you will want to follow. Or maybe a totally different person with the same feisty, strong, loving nature that made Donut a very believable Tween. The secondary characters were well developed too. The adults acted like adults and the children were children.
I'm intrigued with this "new to me" line of books Macmillan Publishing called Feiwel and Friends Books., "a publisher of innovative children’s fiction and nonfiction literature, including hardcover, paperback series, and individual titles. The list is eclectic and combines quality and commercial appeal for readers ages 0-16. The imprint is dedicated to “book by book” publishing, bringing the work of distinctive and outstanding authors, illustrators, and ideas to the marketplace. Feiwel and Friends is defined and guided by our principle: Our books are friends for life."
https://us.macmillan.com/mackids/
Unfortunately, the illustrator of the book's cover was not easy to identify and credit. Yet it is because of the very attractive cover that I plucked it off the display case in the children's space at my local library. The author gratefully thanks Karl James Mountford for the gorgeous cover in her acknowledgments as well as the Feiwel team. I should thank my librians for introducing me to new author that I will want to follow.
This book will definitely be a friend for life.
September 5, 2018
A great short read which deals with some tough emotional issues, I'd recommend this book to the middle school crowd looking for adventures, or for realistic fiction. Because the story is set in the 1920s in rural Vermont it could also appeal to historical fiction fans! I liked how the story portrayed Donut's difficulties in coming to terms with her father's death, along with her dislike of her aunt's arrival and insistence on her moving to Boston. Emotionally weighty stuff, but worth a read!
August 8, 2018
Evocative and poignant! Set in 1920's Vermont, Donut is dealing with the loss of her father, the intrusion into her life by her strict Auntie and an impending move to Boston, away from her beloved village, friend and memories of her father. Impetuous and head-strong, Donut first tries several schemes before finally running away - but not too far.
Beautifully written, both the setting and the characters truly shine in this charming short book. Donut's growth is crafted wonderfully here as are her understated but deep relationships with so many people in the area who are all looking out for her in one way or another. Ultimately hopeful and very moving. I loved it!
Will make an excellent read aloud!
Beautifully written, both the setting and the characters truly shine in this charming short book. Donut's growth is crafted wonderfully here as are her understated but deep relationships with so many people in the area who are all looking out for her in one way or another. Ultimately hopeful and very moving. I loved it!
Will make an excellent read aloud!
July 13, 2018
Donut’s pops has passed away in an automobile accident and now her Aunt Agnes has come to stay in their small house in rural Vermont. Donut has grown up there, surrounded by the woods and all of the people she considers friends. There is Tiny, a huge boy with a big heart, who is her best friend. There is Sam, the man who taught her to do taxidermy and who creates displays for museums. It’s the place that Donut belongs, one where she can see her father in every part of their home and also her mother, whom she never knew. So when Aunt Agnes decides to take Donut back to Boston with her, Donut knows she must do everything she can to stay, even running away.
Kalmar has created a story with one heck of a heroine at its heart. Donut is unusual in so many ways, from her passion for rivers and geography to her taxidermy of small rodents and birds to her willingness to test out her father’s foldable boat. Donut is not one to shrink away from stating her mind or from taking action to support herself. Readers will immediately feel for Donut being taken away from her home, and in the end they too will be surprised at how Donut has grown and changed.
This historical fiction for middle grades is set in an interesting time period that we don’t see a lot of. It’s in rural Vermont around the 1920s. There is talk of bobbed hair, flappers and Prohibition. The setting of Vermont is fully realized in the book, particularly once Donut heads into the woods on her own. Then nature really emerges around her, beautiful and dangerous at once.
A strong piece of historical fiction, get this into the hands of readers who enjoy a strong protagonist, wilderness settings and cows. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
Kalmar has created a story with one heck of a heroine at its heart. Donut is unusual in so many ways, from her passion for rivers and geography to her taxidermy of small rodents and birds to her willingness to test out her father’s foldable boat. Donut is not one to shrink away from stating her mind or from taking action to support herself. Readers will immediately feel for Donut being taken away from her home, and in the end they too will be surprised at how Donut has grown and changed.
This historical fiction for middle grades is set in an interesting time period that we don’t see a lot of. It’s in rural Vermont around the 1920s. There is talk of bobbed hair, flappers and Prohibition. The setting of Vermont is fully realized in the book, particularly once Donut heads into the woods on her own. Then nature really emerges around her, beautiful and dangerous at once.
A strong piece of historical fiction, get this into the hands of readers who enjoy a strong protagonist, wilderness settings and cows. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
July 24, 2018
Charming characters, a beautiful cover, and a gentle story of loss in 1920’s Vermont. Kalmar’s writing is smart and advanced in style without being advanced in content. Would be a great book choice for a younger advanced reader.
July 23, 2018
Donut is still struggling with the grief of losing her father when her Aunt Agnes decides it's time to uproot her and bring her to Boston. Strongwilled and tied to her community, Donut decides she just isn't going, so she attempts to convince Aunt Agnes to stay. When it doesn't work, she decides to run away, holing up in a nearby cabin called Chanticleer. The hideout works for a while, but soon most of her friends know where she is and one night everything goes wrong, sending her back out of the woods and into Aunt Agnes' arms.
This is a beautiful understated middle grade work of historical fiction. It reminded of Lyddie by Katherine Patterson, evoking the region, the people and the animals just as seamlessly. Kalmar doesn't short shrift any of her characters. They all have interesting hobbies and backstories. Even the big bad Aunt is whole, sympathetic and interesting.
This is a beautiful understated middle grade work of historical fiction. It reminded of Lyddie by Katherine Patterson, evoking the region, the people and the animals just as seamlessly. Kalmar doesn't short shrift any of her characters. They all have interesting hobbies and backstories. Even the big bad Aunt is whole, sympathetic and interesting.
April 1, 2021
A quick, sad read about a 12 year old girl struggling with loss and the prospect of more loss as she is set to be taken from her rural home in Vermont to an all-girls school in Boston with her aunt. It's a sad read in a way that the book fills you with her pain, her longing for things to be the way they once her, her countless losses in such a short lifetime. The sadness is deepest in her desperate clinging at hope in the boat her father built and the bear that cries out each night over the pond, aching for a familiar voice to let him know that everything is okay. I buried myself in this one and it did not disappoint.
July 9, 2018
Eleven year old Donut has had more than her share of loss and bad luck. She's got good friends, though, and a very firm resolve. When it looks like Donut stands to lose it all, she heads for the woods - literally! The whole town is rooting for her, and you will, too. "A Stitch in Time" is beautifully written. It's the perfect summer time read for your favorite young reader.
September 17, 2019
"Gorgeous, evocative language, and gets right to Donut’s heart"?? Donut is a stinker. Her aunt is a stinker. Everyone is the book is called a stinker at some point and a stinker is not gorgeous or evocative language. Donut is selfish, unlikable, and annoying. Yes, it sucks that she will have to move to go live with her Aunt since Donut is now an orphan but thus is life. Donut is super self involved and a bad friend, not a lot of heart here. I'm glad this book is only 167 pages because I had to power through this. Would not recommend to any of my students to children that cross my path.
August 5, 2019
I love a good orphan story, as well as a book with a beautiful cover, but this one just didn’t do it for me. Though maybe I would’ve gave appreciated it more had I read it as a kid? The story just kind of dragged on for me, I didn’t love the writing style, and the main character felt more bratty to me than sweet. I mean, no one is going to be at their best after losing their parents, but it was still hard to sympathize with her actions and attitude at certain points. I also got annoyed with how often she and her best friend punched each other in the arm. Like every time they interacted. Anyway, clearly I’m in the minority here, because it’s one of NPR’s best books of 2018.
January 12, 2019
Loved the main character and her name. Opening really pulled me in - I wanted to hear more about Donut and her taxidermy skills.
Loved the cover.
Had a nice cry at one point.
Not a fan of the title of the book.
Loved the cover.
Had a nice cry at one point.
Not a fan of the title of the book.
April 27, 2019
I liked this one! It was new, interesting, and I liked how Donut had the very interesting hobby of taxidermy.
August 24, 2018
Gorgeous book cover. 11 year old orphan in Vermont in 1927. Dorothy, known as Donut, has just lost her pops. She's fond of taxidermy and poker, nehi and geography. Loves her best friend Tiny (who is very large, of course) and her godfather and taxidermy instructor Sam. Always up for a paddle in the folding boat her father left behind, and absolutely opposed to leaving her idyllic village life for school in Boston with her educated aunts.
It's a charming read, although the combination of quirky traits and friends comes across as weirdly hipster. I am not fond of taxidermy as an art form, so I assume this is personal bias on my part. She's a reasonable enough character --strong willed, stubborn and fiery. Also grieving. I appreciate the realistic depiction of what running away in this time and place might look like. Also how poorly that works out and how well she takes responsibility.
It's a charming read, although the combination of quirky traits and friends comes across as weirdly hipster. I am not fond of taxidermy as an art form, so I assume this is personal bias on my part. She's a reasonable enough character --strong willed, stubborn and fiery. Also grieving. I appreciate the realistic depiction of what running away in this time and place might look like. Also how poorly that works out and how well she takes responsibility.
August 29, 2018
Gorgeous language!! I love the descriptions of place and time. My problems are personally I found the idea of taxidermy by a young child kind of creepy. I am sure it happens, but as a city girl, it just seemed strange.
September 8, 2018
This little book was almost like a poem, inside Donut’s head a lot. The review inside the front cover is accurate: heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
April 17, 2019
A short read with several strong characters. I most enjoyed the cozy sense of place Kalmar creates, and Donut’s burning desire to hold on to what is familiar in the face of so much loss. Best for a reader with an interest in small town Vermont and quirky characters.
August 23, 2018
Loved reading this book about loss, change, and history. Donut (what a wonderful name) is being forced to move to Boston with her aunt after her father dies. Donut plans all sorts of things to avoid having to move, but her ultimate attempt is nearly her undoing. I loved the setting of the little town, the impact of nature and being outside, the history of relationships and place. Nice book!
August 3, 2022
Like a Rumble Strip podcast episode in book format. ❤
August 20, 2018
What a perfectly set slim book about Donut, an 11 year old who has never had a mother and whose father died four days ago. She's lived a life of freedom with her father, learning to taxidermy from her godfather, playing poker with her dad on Friday nights and getting nice and muddy. What will she do now that Aunt Agnes wants to take her to Boston and make her go to a fancy school? Well, run away, of course.
This is a beautiful slice of time in a young girl's life a long time ago in a place in Vermont. The small town is illustrated beautifully, Donut's feelings are articulated well for a girl her age. This book really packs a full story in less than 150 pages. It's a perfect read alike for books like The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and Moon Over Manifest.
This is a beautiful slice of time in a young girl's life a long time ago in a place in Vermont. The small town is illustrated beautifully, Donut's feelings are articulated well for a girl her age. This book really packs a full story in less than 150 pages. It's a perfect read alike for books like The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and Moon Over Manifest.
September 21, 2018
Donut is adjusting to the recent death of her father when her maternal aunt announces that she is taking Donut home with her to Boston. Donut (a.k.a. Dorothy and now an orphan) will have none of it. When her more conventional methods fail to persuade Aunt Agnes that Donut belongs in the only home that she has ever known, Donut determines to run away. A friendly neighbor has a somewhat abandoned cabin at the other end of a nearby pond and Donut sets up house keeping with the mice and a midnight bear for company. Her time in the cabin teaches her many things, perhaps most importantly that family belongs with family.
At first it may seem impossible to like a book who's main character has a ridiculous name like "Donut", but the story develops into an excellent first person perspective on the anger and sense of loss that surrounds the death of a loved one. Donut is a very independent girl and stubborn, a heroine who can't be told a thing and who must learn life's lessons the hard way on her own and from her own mistakes. This is an especially good read for a young forceful personality with similarities to Donut or to anyone who is experiencing the anger phase of grief.
At first it may seem impossible to like a book who's main character has a ridiculous name like "Donut", but the story develops into an excellent first person perspective on the anger and sense of loss that surrounds the death of a loved one. Donut is a very independent girl and stubborn, a heroine who can't be told a thing and who must learn life's lessons the hard way on her own and from her own mistakes. This is an especially good read for a young forceful personality with similarities to Donut or to anyone who is experiencing the anger phase of grief.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews