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Finger Strings
A Book of Cat’s Cradles and String Figures
Paperback
September 2008
9780863156656
More details
- Publisher
Floris Books - Published
25th September 2008 - ISBN 9780863156656
- Language English
- Pages 144 pp.
$25.00
Finger string games are a wonderful opportunity for today’s children to practice meaningful movement, explore space, interact with others, and exercise their creative spirits. They are also great fun!
String games can be especially useful to children who struggle at school or are dyslexic, and for those who are learning the concepts of “left and right” and “up and down.” Finger Strings contains games that will delight all children, from the very young to those with greater dexterity. Michael Taylor has many years of experience working with children and has shared his string figures at schools and camps throughout the world. Finger Strings contains more than eighty inventive, imaginative string games and stories, all clearly illustrated with step-by-step, color diagrams. This book is designed especially to require minimal page-turning while making string shapes. Ringbound to lie flat. Includes two brightly colored strings to get you started.
“The cat's cradle craze keeps popping up and this is the whole works. We start with a simple flag across our fingers and end up with wearable art. It can be an individual or a group activity—see the Five Person Star! There are even rhymes and stories to tell as you illustrate them in string. There are some scholarly notes which show how string games are part of many different cultures. An excellent ‘cross-generational’ book.” —Carousel Christmas Guide to Children's Books 2008
“Children today sometimes miss out on traditional pursuits so it is always good to find a book that offers something a little different. This project book, complete with colorful string, is a great resource giving readers the chance to play games, make pictures and act out stories—all using string. Diagrams for over 80 activities are fairly easy to follow, even for an instruction phobic parent!” —The Green Parent, Oct./Nov. 2008
“Do you remember playing Cat's Cradle as a child? A new book—Finger Strings by Michael Taylor—offers step-by-step instructions for finger string games and comes with two strings. Why not relearn your skills and teach them to your children or grandchildren—or use them as an icebreaker at a party?” —Woman Alive, Oct. 2008
“These are very clearly described and pictured, and there are examples of simple figures and some quite complicated. Some can be used in the telling of a story and others have a poem accompanying them; there is much potential for use across a wide range from playgroup to adult, and indeed some shapes have been invented by children themselves. The sense of achievement when the desired result is reached is very satisfying!... It can be addictive: back to Jacob's Ladder.” —Diana Barnes, The School Librarian
C O N T E N T S:
Meet the String Man
1. About String Games
2. Simple Figures
3. Stars
4. Popular Figures
5. Stories
6. 3d Figures
7. Moving Figures
8. Other Figures
9. Partner Games
10. Tricks
11. String Things
12. Children's Inventions
13. Very Simple Figures
14. Stringing Stories Together
Michael Taylor
Michael Taylor is a teacher at Michael Hall (Waldorf) School in the UK. He promotes traditional childhood games of movement and agility for the classroom, playground, and gym, and is often called the “String Man.” In addition to string figures, Michael collects and teaches clapping games, finger games, jump-rope activities, ball bouncing, and beanbag games. He always carries a string with him, and has been known to share string patterns with strangers on trains and airplanes. He is the author of Finger Strings; Pull the Other One! and Now You See It...