Lucy and the String Celebrates Childhood Creativity and
Problem-Solving
by Jennifer Garry
The moment I opened Vanessa Roeder’s debut picture book, Lucy and the String, I was reminded of my own gap-toothed and inquisitive 7-year-old.
In the story, Lucy finds a bright red string and gives it a little tug. When nothing happens, she pulls harder and harder until she comes face to face with Hank — a bear whose pants she has just completely unraveled. Like Lucy, my daughter is curious and clever and sometimes barrels into situations without exactly thinking things through. She has tested Sharpies (on her face) to see if they are actually washable, flooded the kitchen counters while performing elaborate (and unsanctioned) experiments, and, most recently, sprayed herself in the eye with deodorant in an effort to make her entire body smell fresh. Like Lucy, my daughter gets so caught up in her inquisitiveness (What is this stuff? How do you use it? Can I make my face smell nice?) she sometimes fails to consider what could go wrong.
What I love about Lucy and the String is that it doesn’t try to squash that magical sparkle of curiosity by scaring children with big consequences. Instead, it encourages them to get creative and use problem-solving skills to make things right when they’ve messed up.
Hank the bear is not happy that he’s missing his pants, but — when it becomes clear that a simple apology isn’t going to clean up the trouble she has caused — Lucy doesn’t give up. Instead, she rolls up her sleeves and works tirelessly to find an acceptable solution to the problem of Hank’s missing pants by using only the red string that started this mess in the first place. When tutus and silly hairdos don’t work to make Hank happy, she knits herself a long sweater and lets Hank use her striped dress as a skirt.
Finally, Hank is happy! And that makes Lucy happy too. Until, that is, Lucy snips the string that is holding them together. Somewhere in the midst of all the back and forth, Lucy and Hank developed a pretty unlikely friendship. They’ve formed a special bond and no longer want to be apart. The very idea of it makes them both a little sad. In the end, the red string that caused all of this trouble ends up being the thing that ties their friendship together.
With sweet and silly illustrations that are done entirely in black, white, and red and language that is simple and straightforward, this book teaches children the importance of creativity and perseverance and showcases the beauty that can unfold because of it. It’s also an adorable reminder that you can find your best friend in the last place you’d think to look.
Now, this story might not exactly help my daughter get the deodorant out of her stinging eyeball, but it will certainly teach her not to give up the next time her curiosity gets her into a sticky predicament — and let’s face it, we know there will be a next time.
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