I love the magic that can happen when picture books are written by author/illustrators.
Text/Illustrations © Vanessa Roeder
Lucy and the String is one of those magical books. At first I felt like I was being—ah—strung along.
Text/Illustrations © Vanessa Roeder
Text/Illustrations © Vanessa Roeder
What do you think is at the end of that string?
Text/Illustrations © Vanessa Roeder
Take a moment to observe Lucy’s face in that moment of peril. She’s not worried about a snarling creature. She is filled with joy at the possibilities of that marvelous tangle of string.
Turns out that the snarl is a bear…..
Text/Illustrations © Vanessa Roeder
A very unhappy bear. Who’s partially bare. Oh no!
Hank, the bear, growls and huffs. Lucy apologizes and then, ever the resourceful child, comes up with an idea to cheer Hank up.
The beginning end papers give the reader a clue about what those things will be.
Text/Illustrations © Vanessa Roeder
But Hank doesn’t think she’s entertaining, so Lucy thinks again. This time she whirls about with the string, only to create—a tangle around Hank that turns him into a poorly wound spool. Hank’s ears droop. His half-lidded Garfield eyes express his disappointment.
But Lucy is not one to give up! She wrangles that string into a pair of cow-bear chaps, leaving Hank’s rear regions exposed. Then a tutu, but bears and ballet don’t mix.
Finally, Lucy knits a solution, an enormous sweater. But how will this work? Hanks’ bottom is bare, not his top.
Page turn
Lucy is now wearing the sweater dress and Hank is wearing her old dress as a skirt. Hank approves, and the pair dance.
This fix was just right.
Then Lucy snips the string that tethers to the two together. Sadness and tears at the sudden separation ensues. Until Lucy tugs at the string again.
And unravels the top part of Hank.
What to do? The solution—
Lucy and Hank knit a scarf that ties them together.
The closing end papers add a marvelous touch.
Text/Illustrations © Vanessa Roeder
Once the giggles subside, it becomes apparent that this book intertwines creativity, friendship, and resourcefulness. Congratulations to Vanessa Roeder on her debut!
Activities/Resources:
Pair this book with EXTRA YARN by Mac Barnett.
Learn to finger knit. Here’s a cool finger knitting project: Two-colored snake
Play with scribble doodling to create your own illustrations like the ones on the end papers and throughout the book.
TITLE: Lucy and the String
Author/Illustrator: Vanessa Roeder
Publisher: Dial Books for young readers, 2018
AGES: Preschool – 2nd grade
Themes: Friendship, Resourcefulness, Creativity
For more perfect picture book recommendations, please visit Susanna Hill’s blog.
Jilanne Hoffmann 
Oh, my yes! This looks adorable, fun and funny. I just placed a hold for it at my library.
Yay! It could prove to be quite inspiring!
Thank you so much for sharing this magical book. I LOVE it! So creative and fun
And to think I just stumbled across it in the library when I was looking for other books. I love it when librarians showcase books on top of the shelves. I’d miss so many gems, otherwise. Cheers!
And with Hank happy in his skirt, there’s a gender stereotype-defying “wear what you love” message, too!
I will seek this one out.
Yes, indeedy! And Hank also tried to dance in his tutu, too, but landed on his snoot. Hank and Lucy are so expressive, really well done. My son and I were talking about you the other day. He had an idea for a celebrate stamp. Will see if he manages to draw it midst all his other activities.
A Celebrate Stamp you say? I am intrigued!
Sounds like a delightful book. I added it to my TBR list. I like the activity of scribble doodling. I think kids will have a lot of fun with that. Thanks.
Yay, Maria! If you like the scribble doodle idea, you could also pair this book with SHOE DOG, by Megan McDonald. The puppy in that book is all scribble energy. Really fun to see. https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Megan-McDonald/dp/1416979328
This is darling! It looks like a Julie Rowan-Zoch pick to me! HA!
Lol, I’ll let Julie weigh in on that. I think you’ll love it!
Encouraging creativity and imagination, I think we can all learn from this book. I love the build up with just the string, keeps everyone guessing and has a lot of fun with it too.
I think there’s much merit to doodling. It often helps me think.
This looks fun! And I love the activities you include (especially finger weaving)
My son is fan of finger knitting. His school teaches all kids to do this. And I think Waldorf teaches all students to knit as well. It’s great for the brain and learning to write.
Glad I have a chance to catch up on last week’s reviews. This looks terrific, and I love the idea of pairing it with Extra Yarn.