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ONE PIECE OF STRING by Marthe Jocelyn

ONE PIECE OF STRING

illustrated by Marthe Jocelyn

Pub Date: Oct. 24th, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1318-2
Publisher: Orca

A piece of string can be many things in this cleverly illustrated wordless board book.

When a piece of string is removed from a brown paper package, it takes on new roles, both predictable and surprising. Whether as a clothesline, a rabbit, or a bowl of spaghetti, the string twists and turns its way into a series of visually stimulating, child-friendly pictures. The absence of text in the book gives children and their caregivers the opportunity to invent stories about each page after they have identified the at-times-elusive string. Jocelyn’s (Sam Sorts, 2017) ingenious collage-style illustrations effectively combine patterns and strong, bold blocks of color into highly textured results. The inclusion of a picture of a woman of color (with tightly curled hair made by the string) is a welcome addition to a genre that does not often stray from white, straight-haired characters. Unlike One Red Button (2017), which uses a similar conceit with a red button, the string can be challenging for very young readers to find, as when it forms the eyes of an owl or a bolt of lightning.

Overall, this is a fun and thought-provoking book by a talented illustrator with a knack for wordless storytelling.

(Board book. 2-4)