Camilla Gryski's Favourite String Games

Sheree Haughian is an elementary-school teacher-librarian in
Orangeville, Ontario.

Camilla Gryski’s first three collections of string games have proved
so popular, she’s produced a fourth—this time, a collection of her
personal favourites.

As the title suggests, this group of string arrangements borrows from
the earlier books. “The Ghost Dance,” “The Yam Thief,” “The
Siberian House,” and other patterns will all be familiar to Gryski
fans. The layout of this latest volume, with a cultural explanation of
the string figure highlighted to the left of the figure, seems crisper
and more attractive than the first book. The illustrations of hands,
shown in clear, sequential stages of twisting and looping, are identical
to those previously published. Long pieces of bright red and blue string
are included with the book, perhaps as a motivating “hook” for those
of us who fear failure with “The Fish Spear,” “The Winking Eye,”
or any of the other string figures especially suggested for novices.
Recommended.