Lost! A Story in String

by Paul Fleischman, C.B. Mordan (Illustrator)

A Newbery-winning author and a brilliant new artist create a story that young readers will read and perform for years to come.

Watch and listen as a grandmother recounts a tale of a resourceful farm girl lost in a blizzard, searching for her dog. As she describes that young girl's hazardous journey, a sequence of string figures takes shape in her hands, illustrating each step along the way. Striking scratchboard illustrations bring the grandmother's story to life, while clear instructions and careful diagrams at the end of the book allow you to recreate the tale, and to hold string figure performances of your own. Paul Fleischman's own intergenerational string troupe, String Quartet, has made Lost! a regular part of its repertoire, and you can too.

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens, Historical Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2000

About the author

Paul Fleischman grew up in Santa Monica, California. The son of well-known children's novelist Sid Fleischman, Paul was in the unique position of having his famous father's books read out loud to him by the author as they were being written. This experience continued throughout his childhood.
Paul followed in his father's footsteps as an author of books for young readers, and in 1982 he released the book "Graven Images", which was awarded a Newbery Honor citation.
In 1988, Paul Fleischman came out with "Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices", an unusually unique collection of poetry from the perspective of insects. This book was awarded the 1989 John Newbery Medal. Factoring in Sid Fleischman's win of the John Newbery Medal in 1987 for his book "The Whipping Boy", Paul and Sid Fleischman became to this day the only father and son authors to both win the John Newbery Medal.

Reviews

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the right child, this book could be a wonder. It ends with directions on how to make all of the string figures shown in the story.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Grandmother!"
"Yes, child."
"The electricity - it's gone out!"
"Look at that. So it has. I do love a good lightning storm. Didn't we have one the last time I visited?"
"But, Grandmother, the VCR just stopped! And the TV, too!"
"Finicky beasts."
"The radio won't work!"
"Reckon not."
"Or the computer!"
"True, child." ...

It's so frustrating when kids think they need to be entertained by high tech gadgets. String figures have always been a favorite of mine, and it's fun to see how the figures support the story about a spunky little girl who knows how to survive in the winter woods for several days. I could not always see what the string figure was meant to represent, but the story was still entertaining.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacob, Dad and mom rates this 4 stars, Ellie 3 stars.

Great story to read to kids who get bored when all the electronics are taken away and they must think of something to do on their own...kr 6/14/15

Read this book again and love it. Going to get Ben to get us the string so we can try this out..krb 11/13/17

[forthefamilyssake Hailey White · Rating 5 out of 5]

The message of this book resonated with me. I wish more books were like this. The string aspect inspired my daughter.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A resourceful little girl goes out into the snow to find her wandering dog. She uses wit and persistence to survive against long odds. The story incorporates the ancient use of string to tell stories-- on every page, there is an illustration of hands making a sign with string in a way that complements the action (a house, a bluejay, etc). Another feature of the story is that it's told by a grandmother to her easily bored grandchildren when the electricity goes out. Our librarians included this story in a geography display, and that is an element that hasn't been mentioned in other reviews (at least not in my quick skim). The little girl uses a number of navigation techniques to find her way through miles of isolated forest. I've seen the story described as a survivor tale, and I would add it feels much like a fairy tale as well. A fairy tale in the sense of the spare and sometimes brutal tales that come from Grimm and from oral traditions all over the world. There's a section at the end that discusses the global use of string to tell stories throughout history. Note: I reference those old fairy tales here, but please know this is not a brutal book at all. Probably more frightening to adults (child in the snow for days) and empowering for children.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2000 by a favorite author, I wanted to share this intriguing story, made realistic with detailed illustrations by C.B. Mordan with ink on clayboard. A young girl living high in an apartment building is sad because the electricity goes out in a thunderstorm, thus nothing to do--no radio, TV, computer, etc. Her grandmother says she can tell a story and the granddaughter says, but there'll be no pictures. Indeed there are! Lost in the woods while looking for a dog, Grandmother tells the story, with string. You can see the creations and the back of the book explains how they are made. I imagine everyone has made a string figure or two, but this is a new way to use them, to tell a story!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. Simple and short, a story of a brave and ingenious little girl who survives two nights alone in the woods during a blizzard. Describes how she foraged for food, built a shelter, and located North.

[Viviana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-4 stars
Art 4-5 stars

[FrannyPack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the artwork

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

String figures are so fun!

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself didn't touch me too much, though it isn't a bad one for self-sufficiency and problem solving. Would be a good one for a little bit older kids (but still younger readers) who want the "real world" stories, instead of fantasy or fairy-tales. Especially with the setting, would be a good fit for those interested in the Little House books.
The illustrations are woodcuts with a lot of detail. This style of illustration again adds to the realism of the story.
I liked best how the string figures were incorporated into the story itself. I also played string games as a kid (first learned from the Klutz series of books) and this was fun and nostalgic. It would also make the story a good fit for kids who are interested in those types of activities. The activity makes it a good lesson in problem solving, following directions, manual dexterity, patience, and a bit of history too.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool story, bro. (No, really. It is!) A brief survival tale told with woodcut-style illustrations and a related string figure accompanying each spread. It's a bit dated now with its mention of VCRs, but as someone who can make Jacob's Ladder with her eyes closed, I love the idea of introducing string figures to kids.

[Lea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated story within a story of a girl who had only string with which to amuse herself. Included on every page are illustrations of string figures and the back contains directions on how to master each and every one. Interesting concept for a book. Would be great to teach patience, following directions, self-sufficiency and problem-solving.

[Malbadeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

i forgot about string games and then David reminded me. I love the idea of this book - in the end it lent itself too much to a lesson but the pictures were nice and reminiscing about string games was nice. I think i must have sold it powell's - ???? haven't seen it around in awhile.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Besides delighting me, this book taught me how to tell a story in string and how to survive in the woods in winter. I highly recommend this book to everyone. In short, I absolutely loved this book.

Themes: survival, entertaining oneself (without electricity)

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A grandmother tells a story, illustrating with string art when her grandkids are bored because there is no electricity. It is interesting the way the book teaches the reader at the end, how to make the different scenes out of string. Could awaken a fun past-time in the reader.

[Margaret Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very touching and encouraging story!!! :-D

[Brian Cave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of a young girl lost in the woods in search of her family dog. The story is told in a way in which string puppets are used.

[Stephanie]

great illustrations. Good story

[Corri Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be kind of a fun book to have in a classroom for those who are always fast finishers.

[Cheryl]

Wonderful concept. Exciting story. Good appendix with instructions for making the string figures. But somehow it just didn't pull together for me. I won't rate, but rather I'll let you judge for yourself.