Monroe, Chris. String Ball. Chris Monroe, Illus. Lerner/Carolrhoda, 05/2025. [32]pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 979-8765611517. GRADES Preschool–1. ADDITIONAL.
What happens when a small black kitten finds a bright red string ball? Find out in this mostly wordless tale, in which the kitten ends up inside the ball and is bounced all over the house and neighborhood. First, a black-haired girl, with skin the color of the white page, writes and illustrates directions for how to make a string ball (balloon coated with a papier mâché-like string coating, dried, and left hollow). Then readers watch the kitten discover a way inside the ball and promptly begin its very dizzying day. Various kids and animals play with the ball as it rolls, flies, and bounces its way through the day, before somehow ending up in the girl’s backpack and returning home. Whimsical action, simple b&w line illustrations, and wordless movement allow readers to decide what everyone is saying, as the only color—the red ball—moves across the pages.
Joshua Rees—Daly City Public Library