• Age: 0 to 2
• Grade: p
• Reading age: 0 to 2

One piece of string comes untied from a parcel and changes into a spider's web, a ropy updo, a layer of snow on a birdhouse roof, and other surprises.

Illustrated using Jocelyn's delightful paper collage, this wordless board book invites little ones to follow along and discover that each spread is made up of one single piece! This is a book that will inspire the youngest readers to see their own expanding worlds as a collection of interconnected shapes and colors.

Marthe Jocelyn is the award-winning author and illustrator of over thirty-five books for babies, kids and teens. Her illustrated books have been shortlisted for both the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. In 2009 she was the recipient of the prestigious Vicky Metcalf Award for her body of work. One Red Button and One Piece of String are the result of her lifelong obsession with scraps, and her delight in surprising the reader with unexpected details. Originally from Toronto, Marthe settled in Stratford, Ontario, after a thirtyyear stretch in New York. For more information, visit www.marthejocelyn.com.

Marthe Jocelyn's profile page

• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Commended, Resource Links, The Year's Best Books

"Jocelyn's collages are alive with colour and textures, and they invite their young viewers to not just find the string or button but to linger on the pages' details. Though the books' board book format suggests a preschool audience, art teachers in schools might wish to acquire them to use as exemplars for divergent artistic thinking. Highly Recommended." Reviewed with One Red Button.

CM Magazine

"What fun! Text is not required for these two clever board books…Wouldn't young children, as they begin to investigate their surroundings, be fascinated by the transformation of these supposedly ordinary objects? Imaginations will come to life! The diversity of colours, shapes and textures in Marthe Jocelyn's inventive paper-colage illustrations, artfully photographed by Ian Crysler, will prove to be irresistible to those thrive on viewing their surroundings in new and exciting ways."

Canadian Children's Book News

"Cleverly illustrated…Jocelyn's ingenious collage-style illustrations effectively combine patterns and strong, bold blocks of color into highly textured results…This is a fun and thought-provoking book by a talented illustrator with a knack for wordless storytelling."

Kirkus Reviews

"Both animals and objects in Jocelyn's delightful books will be familiar to most young children, and her illustrations, with their amusing details, lend themselves to repeated viewing. With these titles, some string, glue, and buckets of large buttons and crayons, educators and parents will have some ready-made art activities (supervised, of course) for mini-makers—and their older siblings. Quirky and fun, these books are natural lead-ins to art projects."

School Library Journal

"Jocelyn's paper collage illustrations are beautifully textured and colourful, incorporating pattern and silhouette to great effect…It also expertly supports visual development in babies, facilitating focus, tracking abilities and colour recognition as they take in all the details contained in Jocelyn's illustrations. One Red Button and One Piece of String are delightful books that lay the groundwork for children to blossom into thorough and thoughtful readers as they develop."

Resource Links