Lucy and the String

May 28, 2018
By the time Lucy realizes what’s at the end of the piece of red yarn she’s been tugging, she’s unraveled the pants right off a large bear named Hank, who’s covered in red knit. Lucy hams it up by way of apology, shaping the yarn into funny hairstyles before realizing that Hank is not amused—he just wants his pants back. When Lucy finally comes up with a satisfactory solution (she cuts the yarn that’s joined them for so long), the two discover that they’ve become essential to each other. Newcomer Roeder works in a gray-black-white palette lit up by the yarn’s brilliant scarlet, and she paces the story’s panels and vignettes with care while exploring the full range of the yarn’s possibilities—dance partner, calligraphic script, building material, and more. The transformation is Hank’s as he lets go of his loss and becomes interested in Lucy’s humor and energy. Pants are expendable, he discovers, as he accepts Lucy’s striped skirt as a substitute, but friendship is forever. Ages 3–5. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

June 15, 2018
A long red string becomes the tie that joyously binds.With much effort, a girl pulls on a long red string, and the results are not what she expected, for at the other end is Hank, a grouchy bear who has now lost his red knit pants. Lucy is an imaginative child and tries very hard to cheer up the bear. She swirls, curls, designs, and dons a series of head ornaments from the red thread but to no avail. Hank "just wanted pants." Lucy goes back to work and energetically strings a makeshift coverup or two or three for the bear, who nevertheless remains "a bare bear." Neither is a tutu satisfactory. Finally, Lucy pulls out her knitting needles and creates an oversized sweater for herself and gifts her own black-and-white-striped skirt to a now happy and no longer bare bear. Unfortunately, snipping the yarn that now connects them leads to great unhappiness for Hank, but Lucy is ever resourceful and concocts a perfect solution for the now-good friends. Roeder uses pencils, watercolors, and "lots of digital string" in a palette of red, black, and white to create an imaginative and entertaining tale of crafting and friendship. Lucy is pale-skinned, with a gap-toothed and smiling face adorned with black spiky pigtails.Dressing up and some cross-dressing result in a happy relationship for a girl and a bear. (Picture book. 4-7)

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September 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 2-When Lucy notices a string and tugs it, she discovers it's attached to Hank, a bear with whom she develops a special friendship. Unfortunately, Lucy's tugging has unraveled Hank's knit pants, so she dons herself in amusing string-created get-ups to cheer him up. Hank is not amused. Next, she tries to replace the pants by spinning the string, wrapping it around Hank like a straight jacket. Lucy lassos and loops the string to create chaps that leave Hank's behind bare. A tutu doesn't work, either. Finally, the girl knits herself a new dress and gives her striped dress to Hank. He's delighted, but when Lucy snips the yarn joining them so they can go their separate ways, bear and girl are unhappy-until Lucy unravels the top half of Hank's outfit and fashions a solution. The text, though brief, contains delightful words such as brawny, frilly, lasso, and tether. The hilarious illustrations-created with Prismacolor pencils, watercolor, and digital string-are done in only four colors: red, black, gray, and white. Eight circle-enclosed images of Lucy in yarn-inspired hairdos and hats appear on front yarn-filled endpapers. Back endpapers feature Hank in similar adornments. The yarn itself becomes a character, even forming words as Lucy whips it into garments for Hank. The girl appears in six vertical panels in different silly guises, which only elicit expressions of confusion, disgust, and displeasure from Hank. VERDICT This perfect blend of words and pictures is sure to have kids chuckling and perhaps trying their own string creations. A fun addition for most libraries.-Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Cambridge, MA

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