One piece of string comes untied from a parcel and changes into a spider's web, a ropy updo, a layer of snow on a birdhouse roof, and other surprises. Illustrated using Jocelyn's delightful paper collage, this wordless board book invites little ones to follow along and discover that each spread is made up of one single piece! This is a book that will inspire the youngest readers to see their own expanding worlds as a collection of interconnected shapes and colors. PreS-Gr 3—Don't let the format of these wordless books fool you—their uses extend beyond what might typically be considered toddler-only territory. In String, viewers follow a thin, white cotton cord from spread to spread. In the first image, it secures a parcel wrapped in crinkled brown paper, becoming next a clothesline, then an outline of a rabbit, a head of curly hair, and a bowl of spaghetti, until the final picture where a small child in silhouette is perched on a swing of string against a purple sky. The subject item in Button must be discovered in pictures depicting a parked fire engine, a ladybug, an apple tree, a traffic light, and so on as it rolls from scene to scene. In style, the collage artwork is reminiscent of Nancy Elizabeth Wallace's Apples, Apples, Apples! and The Kindness Quilt, featuring brightly colored paper cutouts against bold background colors or patterns. Both animals and objects in Jocelyn's delightful books will be familiar to most young children, and her illustrations, with their amusing details, lend themselves to repeated viewing. With these titles, some string, glue, and buckets of large buttons and crayons, educators and parents will have some ready-made art activities (supervised, of course) for mini-makers—and their older siblings. VERDICT Quirky and fun, these books are natural lead-ins to art projects.—Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal "Jocelyn's collages are alive with colour and textures, and they invite their young viewers to not just find the string or button but to linger on the pages' details. Though the books' board book format suggests a preschool audience, art teachers in schools might wish to acquire them to use as exemplars for divergent artistic thinking. Highly Recommended." Reviewed with One Red Button . ― CM Magazine "Jocelyn's paper collage illustrations are beautifully textured and colourful, incorporating pattern and silhouette to great effect…It also expertly supports visual development in babies, facilitating focus, tracking abilities and colour recognition as they take in all the details contained in Jocelyn's illustrations. One Red Button and One Piece of String are delightful books that lay the groundwork for children to blossom into thorough and thoughtful readers as they develop." ― Resource Links "Both animals and objects in Jocelyn's delightful books will be familiar to most young children, and her illustrations, with their amusing details, lend themselves to repeated viewing. With these titles, some string, glue, and buckets of large buttons and crayons, educators and parents will have some ready-made art activities (supervised, of course) for mini-makers—and their older siblings. Quirky and fun, these books are natural lead-ins to art projects." ― School Library Journal "What fun! Text is not required for these two clever board books…Wouldn't young children, as they begin to investigate their surroundings, be fascinated by the transformation of these supposedly ordinary objects? Imaginations will come to life! The diversity of colours, shapes and textures in Marthe Jocelyn's inventive paper-colage illustrations, artfully photographed by Ian Crysler, will prove to be irresistible to those thrive on viewing their surroundings in new and exciting ways." ― Canadian Children's Book News "Cleverly illustrated…Jocelyn's ingenious collage-style illustrations effectively combine patterns and strong, bold blocks of color into highly textured results…This is a fun and thought-provoking book by a talented illustrator with a knack for wordless storytelling." ― Kirkus Reviews Can you follow one strand of string through this knotty book? search-and-find, early learning Marthe Jocelyn grew up in Toronto and moved to New York City when she was twenty, returning to Canada thirty years later. She has published fifty-one books for young readers, including board books for babies, picture books, chapter books, non-fiction, craft books, middle grade and young adult novels. Her illustrated books have been shortlisted for both the Governor General's Literary Award and the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. Marthe now lives in Stratford, Ontario with not enough bookshelves.