A Long Piece of String by William Wondriska
A Long Piece of String was originally published in 1963. It is a wordless book that on the surface looks quite simplistic, however, it has a thought-provoking element.
The pages are uncluttered, making the bold illustrations the focus. All but one page includes a red image tangled by a black piece of string. The anomalous page is a black night sky highlighted with a moon and stars.
The piece of string weaves itself through objects that represent each of the letters of the alphabet. It is a distinct introduction to the alphabet and gives licence to the reader to develop their own story with the image.
The simple, red illustrations make this a wonderful book for toddlers. It is the way in which readers use and discuss this book that makes it highly valuable. It can be wonderful for prediction (eg. What could the string find on the next page?), and it is wonderful for generating synonyms, especially because some of the words are American terms like ‘gas’ and ‘yard stick’.
The end of the book includes the alphabetical list of objects that appear in the book along with a question for the reader, ‘What is on your piece of string’.
Book Details:
A Long Piece of String
Buy online from The Book Depository or The Nile
William Wondriska
ISBN:978-0811874939
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2010
