Lucy and the String

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.