One Piece of String

by Marthe Jocelyn (Artist)

One piece of string comes untied from a parcel and changes into a spider's web, a ropy updo, a layer of snow on a birdhouse roof, and other surprises.

Illustrated using Jocelyn's delightful paper collage, this wordless board book invites little ones to follow along and discover that each spread is made up of one single piece! This is a book that will inspire the youngest readers to see their own expanding worlds as a collection of interconnected shapes and colors.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Art

24 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Canadian born
22 books published for young readers"

Reviews

[Omar Espinoza]

If you would like to have an interactive activity with a child that involves book then you should check out One Piece Of String by Marthe Jocelyn. This author and illustrator has several awards accumulated on her resume including the Vicky Metcalf Award in 2009 for her body of work in Canada. On the back of this board book, the reader is asked a question: Can you follow one strand of string through this knotty book? That’s what is visually presented throughout this 11 page book. This non-linear book presents a piece of string in various creative scenarios including making the string look like waves, a clothesline, and a bowl of spaghetti. The size and sturdiness of this book seems a good fit for a toddler. Since there are no words in this book, the person presenting this book to a toddler can focus on the image itself or other aspects such as color or how the string is being used. The author’s website does recommend this book could also be discussed in art classes as an example of creativity or aesthetics. As an art teacher, the minimalistic presentation of the string allows the presenter of this book to ask many questions not only about what someone sees in each image, but what else can the string create - and that’s why this book deserves a strong consideration.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each page opening has a picture where the reader is invited to discover what a piece of string can become. The colorful fabric and paper collage art depicts familiar places and things in a young child's life, such as animals, a plate of spaghetti, a swing. This is a wordless book which can lend itself to different tellings. The book may spur a reader to look at a piece of string with new eyes.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the mixed media art.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun book and activity to do with kids!!

[Chrisanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful

[Mort's Kids · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been well-established that I'm a sucker for books without words.
Simple, quick, creative enough, and with nice mixed media art.

[Sal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't tell if this is meant for toddlers or for arts and crafts enthusiasts but it was fun to skim through.

[Elizabeth]

Minh Lê‏'s "Best Picture Books of 2017" gave this an Honorable Mention for "Best Design" (along with One Red Button ).

In this book, you're finding the string in each illustration -- which, unlike a red button, can change shape, enabling it to sometimes outline an item and other times almost hide within a busier illustration.

I assume the illustrations are photographs of the string placed on top of cut paper collages, since in every illustration it looks like you could reach out and touch the string.