Many Stars and More String Games

T. Virginia Gillese is an editor and writer who is currently involved in
the revising of the Literature, Communications, and Philosophy sections
of the Canadian Encyclopedia.

The creation of string figures is a folk art with a long tradition. It has been used to tell stories, pass on legends, perform magic, and even to carry secret messages.

This volume is a sequel to Cats Cradle, Owls Eyes: A Book of String Games (1983) which has been described as “best-selling.” In both books, the author offers step-by-step instructions and more than 200 illustrations detailing nearly 30 string games, figures, and stories.

Although this book is published by Kids Can Press, and although the sentence structure and many of the references imply a young audience, one must hope there is a large number of extraordinarily patient children out there if young novices are to have the perseverance to follow the directions successfully by themselves. This is a fun book for use as a teaching tool with adult intervention, but it is probably not viable for independent use by the average pre-teen.