From Publishers Weekly
In this handsomely designed volume, Fleischman (Whirligig) tells a story within a story, illustrated with elegant, framed ink-on-clayboard pictures and with string. When a lightning storm cuts off the electricity, a girl complains to her grandmother that she'll "die" without her VCR, TV, radio and computer. Her grandmother responds with the story of a girl whose life really was endangered: "About all she had in the world to play with was an old piece of string. But that was plenty enough for her." This girl goes searching for her dog one day and gets lost in the woods during a sudden snowstorm. As the grandmother narrates, she uses string wrapped around her fingers (cat's cradle-style) to form the figure of a dog's head, a jaybird that leads the girl to food and the North Star that leads the child home. Through the girl's own resourcefulness, she manages to survive two days in the forest by herself, and finds her dog. The message is moralistic ("But young as she was, she had a heap of knowledge about getting the most out of what you've gotAlike making a story out of a piece of string") and the story seems constructed to serve the pictures made in string (e.g., the girl mentions a man with a bow who might have posed a threat to the dog, but readers later discover that the dog is injured by a bullet); these string images flow from one into the next with simple hand movements (described in an afterword), and they likely work better live than on the page. Still, children who love to play cat's cradle will enjoy learning how to create the series of string illustrations and telling this story to their friends. Mordan, in his picture book debut, provides a dramatic complement for this spare tale with artwork that resembles etchings; he demonstrates how much can be communicated using simple lines and strokes. A history of the pastime and directions for how to create all the string figures supplement the story. Ages 8-12. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-"I'll die!" says a nine-year-old girl when a lightning storm causes a blackout that deprives her of the use of a computer, TV, etc. This prompts her grandmother to tell a story from her own childhood when her life was truly in danger. As a girl she lived an isolated life in the mountains, her only companion a setter dog who liked to roam, and her only toy a piece of string. When the dog failed to return home for several days, she tracked it and became lost in a blizzard. Determined to survive, the girl resourcefully used whatever she could find to acquire food and shelter. Some of the examples provided strain credibility. "Having so much practice changing string into different things, it came natural to her to turn that walking staff of hers into a lever." The narrative is accompanied by illustrations of string figures that correlate to plot elements. A brief history of this ancient pastime, as well as directions for making the figures in the story are provided. Mordan's ink-on-clayboard artwork is well executed and an appropriate accompaniment to this earnest tale. The book would be useful for those wishing to introduce string-figure art or discuss how children might amuse themselves without electricity, but it is otherwise an additional purchase.
Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
