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The Giant Ball of String
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About The Giant Ball Of String
From School Library Journal Kindergarten-Grade 2-This decidedly unusual picture book has an old-fashioned feel. The illustrations look almost like etchings or engravings, while the small-town setting showcases scenes of a simpler time. Geisert's quirky story focuses on the opportunistic theft of Rumpus Ridge, Wisconsin's claim to fame-a giant ball of string housed in a downtown gazebo, and the clever efforts of that community's children to retrieve their treasure from the Cornwallians, when it washes downstream in a flood. The story flows well, with a certain inevitability, though the vocabulary can be challenging at times. Geisert uses a mixture of full spreads and smaller vignettes to illustrate his tale. These pictures both illuminate the actions described and give careful observers a preview of upcoming events. At times, however, the details are rather small and difficult to discern. The events described are (obviously intentionally) quite peculiar and Geisert's sense of humor is extremely dry. While fans of Edward Gorey's offbeat tales might enjoy this absurd adventure, it's unlikely that a great many young children will be drawn to this low-key saga of string lost and found. Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Product Description Beyond the resourcefulness of its porcine citizens, there wasn’t much to recommend the small mining town of Rumpus Ridge. But even in such a hardscrabble place, they had created something they could be proud of: over the years they had collected the biggest ball of string in the world. Folks came from miles around to see it. But one night, a flood carries their prized string away and washes it ashore near the town of Cornwall. Rather than return it, the Cornwallians decide to keep the string for themselves. They start to make plans to dedicate the string in its new gazebo, but their celebrations could be short-lived, because, having discovered the deceit, those resourceful piglets from Rumpus Ridge have begun to make some plans of their own . . . From Publishers Weekly As in his Nursery Crimes, Geisert once again zeroes in on a small Midwestern town inhabited by a group of pigs to tell an offbeat tale of how cooperation and resourcefulness can overcome deceit. Accompanied by hilariously deadpan etchings, the narrative follows a group of young pigs who use ropes, pulleys, a magnifying glass and some dynamite to reclaim their town's pride and joy, the titular ball of string. Bursting from the public gazebo in which it is housed in Rumpus Ridge, Wis., the string has been collected by generations of the town's youngsters. When it washes downriver in a flood one day, the pigs in the next town seize their chance. An aerial view shows Cornwall's town square, with its brick storefronts and miners' shacks, all laced with fine, spiderweb-like lines: the townsfolk have to dry out the string before they can display it. Half the fun lies in the poker-face text ("At noon, the Cornwallians were going to dedicate their ill-gotten ball of string"); the other half lies in the detailed illustrations of the Rumpus Ridge piglets as they build a sluice and water wheel and "[fashion] a windmill" to regain their prized possession. Any reader who has ever tried to rig up a bucket of water over a doorway will revel in Geisert's tongue-in-cheek delivery as well as the good guys' ingenuity and sweet revenge. Ages 4-8. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Review An absolutely sui generis talent, Geisert excels at drawing mechanical contrivances and contraptions while also creating the most appealing pigs since the late Kurt Wiese created beloved Fredy. And there can be no higher praise than that! Booklist, ALA, Starred Review "An offbeat tale of how cooperation and resourcefulness can overcome deceit... Any reader who has tried to rig up a bucket of water over a doorway will revel in Geisert's tongue-in-cheek delivery as well as the good
