I'm an entirely self-taught knitter with only books to learn from and this book was fantastic. I learned many basic skills and found the patterns a breeze to read and follow. I have used it several times as a reference guide when working from other pattern books. No other book I've found is written as clearly; no guesswork. I never thought, 'what does she MEAN by that?' when reading an instruction. I didn't have to guess and rip out, guess again and rip out, etc. Yes, it's a beginner's book, but there are a few more challenging projects for 'experienced beginners'. The thing I love about Debbie's patterns is that nearly everyone can be knit for either a girl or a boy. There always seems to be an abundance of patterns for girls and less choice for boys. Not so with this book. I have many of db's books, and this is my favourite. The only criticisms I have are that I wish there were a few more patterns and a couple of the patterns are recycled versions from her other books.