Bob Collins
Jonah Larson, 11, of La Crosse, Wis., has all the orders he can handle now that the La Crosse Tribune made him an international star because of his love of crocheting.
Almost 4,000 orders for crocheted items have come in since he was featured in a story last month and it’ll be awhile before he catches up.
He crochets about 10 items a week and his mom has made clear that school and family come first.
Oh, and there’s that book deal he just signed.
We know what you’re thinking: A book deal about a crocheting 11-year-old?
The kid’s story, however, yields only one logical question: who better?
The book will chronicle Jonah’s birth in Ethiopia, where the infant was found by a trail, wrapped in a banana leaf, his mother unable to care for him but hoping he would be found.
Malnourished, Jonah was brought to an orphanage and adopted by the Larsons, who were able to bring him home at 6 months of age.
The book transitions into Jonah’s introduction to crochet, his process and how the fiber art has changed his life, serving not only as a creative outlet but a way to calm his “busy mind” during times of restlessness. Included will be a pattern inspired by Jonah’s very first crochet project, a dishcloth.
Jonah is using the money he’s now making to invest for retirement, but he’s also using it to take his family out for dinner and contribute to Roots Ethiopia, the organization that supported the orphanage that cared for him.
