A Long Piece of String

One of the most fun types of children's books are ABC books. They can be as common as a basic primer or as special as sought-after collectibles. While getting your hands on vintage alphabet books can be difficult and expensive, fortunately, there are plenty of wonderful contemporary editions around.

A Long Piece of String is a stunning example of making the old new again. Thanks to a recent reprinting of this 1963 classic, this wordless picture book will have you and your little one eagerly turning the page in anticipation of the next letter's surprise.

William Wondriska expresses his graphic designer's touch through bold, playful icons of an animal, place, or thing, that are all connected by a continous string (hence the book's title). The string gets longer and longer then tangled, twisted, and tied up as each symbolic letter of the alphabet are successively threaded together.

Remember how pictures are worth a thousand words? This book is an exceptional example. The deliberate absence of words only adds to its literary delight as it will peak curiosity and opportunity for interactive reading. I have found this book a great way for teaching new words to my Wa-wa because of Mr. Wondriska's eclectic choice of objects in representing each letter of the alphabet.

  

















A Long Piece of String is definitely one of the most unique, creative, and beautiful alphabet books around and is a definite must-have for any personal collection or shelf. More over, despite being sans words, this book is far from silent. Mr. Wondriska makes the alphabet sing off the pages and I love the way he added a new twist to the ABC song's ending: A B C D E F G . . . W X Y and Z. Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you guess with me?

A Long Piece of String

pictures by William Wondriska 

© 1963 by William Wondriska, reprinted © 2010 by Chronicle Books