String Games [Paperback]

Richard Darsie (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

New in Paper
"A collection of easy-to-learn string figures and games. Step-by-step directions accompany the clear photographs of hands manipulating strings of different colors."--School Library Journal

Everyone loves Cat's Cradle, but that's only one of many string games--and these come from a variety of cultures and countries around the world. Some are great for a single child, others are fun for a group, and all are photographed in close-ups that capture the hands in motion. Get started with simple figures like "Jacob's Ladder" and move on to "A Fishing Net" from Sierra Leone or a "Butterfly" from the Navajo. Each game includes information on the level and the loop length you'll need.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-A collection of easy-to-learn string figures and games. After a brief history of the art, Darsie begins with a simple figure and progresses to those that transform from one shape into another. Additional chapters include games for two people and mystifying tricks. Step-by-step directions accompany the clear photographs of hands manipulating strings of different colors against pastel backgrounds. In comparison, Belinda Holbrook's String Stories (Linworth, 2003), illustrated with black-and-white photographs, is a collection of tales accompanied by string figures and shapes. Darsie's attractive book may fill a gap in some collections.
Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402727879
• ISBN-13: 978-1402727870
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy yourself!, October 1, 2003

By 

Myriam Namolaru (Haifa, ISRAEL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: String Games (Spiral-bound)

Most of this book is for advanced but you can find also
beginning figures (Scissors, Jacob's ladder, Walking Sticks)

Then you will find figures a little less easy (Chest ornament, Fishing net and lightning).

Next you will try figures a little more difficult
(Hina's skipping rope, Teniako's bridge, Ten Men and Crayfish).

I'm very found of series. In the book there are three :
Mr Umake, Crabs and Mt. Fuji.

With a good friend, you will make the figures for two
(a Mountain, Looking Glass and Sting Ray).

Tricks are things i love because they amaze my children.
My youger child (6) did the "Buttonhole trick" to his friend.
Trick are easy and you feel like a magician!
The other tricks are Caroline Island catch, Cutting off the fingers 1 and Cutting off the fingers 2.

But i think people prefer, first, tri-dimensional string figures
(Two mountains and a stream, King'trone and Howler monkey'mouth).
When you see a "Butterfly" like a real, it's really magic.

An excellent book with photos to each step.

You have also the sources of the figures, if you want learn more
about string figures.

In the book you will find three good strings (not same longer).
An excellent idea.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a wonderful book, June 17, 2008

By 

mother of a string fanatic (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: String Games (Spiral-bound)

This is a wonderful book. My son got it when he was 7 and got hooked on making string figures, which is a very educational pastime. This book shows how to make figures in a pretty wide range of complexity, and the 3 colored strings it comes with are perfect: the color of each string varies along the string, which sometimes helps in figuring out the patterns. (My son has used the strings so much that they've come apart a couple of times, but the ends can easily be glued together again.)

If this book inspires a passion for string figures, one can move on to classic collections of figures by anthropologists like Caroline Furness Jayne and famous mathematicians like Rouse-Ball (both published by Dover). Very educational, and all you need is... a string!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little complicated, but fun!, September 8, 2007

By 

J. Galladora (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: String Games (Spiral-bound)

I bought the String Games book for my 12-year old daughter for Christmas last year and she loved it. Some of the techniques were a bit complicated, but she figured out most of them after a few months. She played with the strings so much that one of them popped (reason for the 4 stars).