A Big Ball of String

by Marion Holland, Roy McKie (Illustrator)

After winding a large ball of string, a young boy has fun finding ways of using it.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Classics, Poetry, 1st Grade, School

Hardcover

First published May 1, 1958

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fav! Review coming soon!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I also posted this under "Discussion," but wanted to add it here as well: This book was illustrated, but not written, by Roy McKie.

I'm delighted to see "A Big Ball of String" is still enjoyed by children and parents--and remembered fondly by those who first heard (or read) it as kids themselves. Marion Holland, the author, was my grandmother. She wrote and illustrated "A Big Ball of String," published in 1958. It was reissued in 1993 with fun illustrations by Roy McKie.

Marion Holland also wrote "Billy Had a System"; "No Children, No Pets"; "Casey Jones Rides Vanity" (illustrated by her daughter Rebecca Holland); "No Room for a Dog"; "The Secret Horse"; and others. She had five children, and they used to pose for her illustrations. I remember going to one of my grandmother's "chalk talks" at the elementary school across the street from her house in Chevy Chase, Md. She'd tuck a giant pad of paper under her arm, toss a box of crayons into her pocketbook, and walk across Rosemary Circle to the school. I remember feeling shy but proud to tag along into a classroom full of kids, where she'd sit on a stool and tell stories, illustrating them as she went along.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A psychological horror story for kids?

A boy has a mental health crisis expressed as a manic obsession with string. I was hoping he would receive the care he needs, but the book leaves him deep in the throes of his spiraling thoughts.

My daughter did not like this when she was six.

[Anna Loeppky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of a young boy who has a huge ball of string. He uses this ball of string for many different purposes. This book is the adventure that he goes on with his ball of string. This book is suitable for early childhood readers.

[Chrystal Flamank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can do anything, anything at all with my big ball of string.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It was one we had when I was a small child. This edition has the original drawings. It's about a boy who makes a big ball of string from a bunch of smaller ones, then tries to figure out what to do with it.

Not only is it interesting, it gives a glimpse, via the drawings and some of the words, into what life looked like 60 or 70 years ago.

[Muse Here · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister just reminded me of this one. We used to love it as kids. I think I read it to my son when he was little, before losing the book. Very creative and clever. I liked how the sick boy used his cleverness to still keep busy, though he didn't really stay in bed, but honestly I don't think he really seemed sick. Still, very clever and cute. Also, I'm fairly certain it rhymed as well. I love clever rhyming books.

[Susannah McFarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book when I was a little - it almost made me want to day home sick from school! I even tried to hook up the intricate rope system in my bedroom, with less than impressive results.

A wonderful story about inventiveness and imagination - the things you can do with a ball of string!

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my big brother's favorite book at the time. One of my favorite pictures of us all was with he and I in my grandmother's lap while she read it to us.

"I can do anything, anything I said!"

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have four siblings and it was a favorite of us all.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is at the top of the list of fun books to read with kids! I think I about have it memorized! Great fun!

[Eric Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite children's book; my Mother probably has it memorized.

[Ronan Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my fav book as a kid - I think my Dad had to 'lose' it because he got sick of reading it to me!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun rhyming book. Early-mid reader.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid; we would read it over and over and over.

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is definitely not a quick read. It keeps going and going to the point of over kill. I can only talk about string so long before I lose it. I did love the illustrations they were just like little drawing with random burst of color. It was very cool. I don't think this is a book we will be one we are reading over and over. He lost interest pretty fast. I do think that it's a fun read for the reader if you like books that challenge you to be able to read it quickly without making a mistake. All in all I have mixed feelings about this children's book. As you can tell from the reasons above.

[Paul Reichstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still to this day love children's books. I found this one by chance in a street book library here in Adelaide. I grabbed it. Lovely illustrations with their simple, wispy colour palate.

This is a great little yarn and I think a gentle nod to creativity and the imaginative powers of the child. This sort of thing needs to be celebrated more. The take away for me: imagine what you can do with one's own life, if so much can come simply from ball of string. Stimulus from random objects. Makes me want to stop and think twice when I fail to take time over the simple things. Children never fail to look twice and question curiously.

This is about daring to dream and imagine.

Gorgeous.

[Kalhan Barath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to my daughter over 30 years ago. She loved the relative nature of it. I got bored, so, would go for skipping a page of three. She had long memorized the book and it ended in a laughing feast that lasted longer than the book. And now the grandson is coming up to that ago. Still out there. Here comes next round.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

How did I never run across this book before?
This is a great read about a boy that wanted string and then once he finally had a big ball of string he was quite clever in what all he used it for.

It fits in with P.D. Eastman quality!

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in Rhymr. A simple and cute story for little kids 4-8 about how a boy use a string for fun things. You can do art/tinker projects with string as an activity afterwards.

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books as a child.

[Desten Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

illustrations are well done and has a creative story. 5 stars!

[Dorothy Vandezande · Rating 5 out of 5]

The original illustrations are so so so much better! I was glad to find an original edition on eBay!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe that I found this on here! This was probably my favorite book when I was little! Most people have no idea what I’m talking about when I mention it.

[Lee Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and silly. 3/5 stars.

[Erika Mathews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun rhyming story. 3.5 stars. I took off half a star for the parents “yelling” instead of saying no to their son nicely. (They speak kindly when I read it aloud though!) Creative and happy story!

[Legend · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was weird.

[Damien Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given to me by Nana in 1980, I loved this book then and while my passion for balls of string has waned a bit over the years, I do still love it now.

[Checkthebook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful rhyming classic. I have read this aloud to hundreds of students.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful.