Cat's Cradle: A Book of String Figures

by Anne Akers Johnson

This classic activity book includes traditional Cat's Cradle techniques and bonus instructions to show you how to make string figures like Jacob's Ladder, The Eiffel Tower, and Witch's Broom. With the clearest directions around and a tie-dyed loop of string to go with them, all you need is your fingers. We were the original Cat's Cradle book with string, and, with more than 4 million copies in print, we've still got it all tied up. Contains a multi-colored string. Color of the string varies.

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens, Games, Art, Reference, Crafts, Picture Books

36 pages, Spiral-bound

First published July 1, 1993

Reviews

[Sarie]

I loved this as kid : )

[Anna Hardesty]

LOL.
I remember this book.
It was actually complicated for me when I was WAY younger, but I'm pretty sure I still have it somewhere. I still know how to make the Eiffel tower. :D

[Dr. Barrett Dylan Brown, Phd]

Awesome! Exactly what I was looking for! The drawing make it very clear how each figure is supposed to look. FINALLY, after 33 years I can finally make Jacob's Ladder! YES! NEVER GIVE UP!

[Siskiyou-Suzy]

I bought a used copy of this today and then cut my own string and had a major flashback. It didn't take long for my muscle memory to kick in, which was pretty amazing. I haven't done this for at least 16 years.

Anyway, this book is amazing at explaining how to do these things.

[Lafcadio]

Very clear diagrams showing what to do with idle hands and a loop of string. I wish there were more, however. Once you've mastered these (which doesn't take long), it gets kinda boring.

[Jimmy]

I had fun making these. My mom and granddaddy already new most of these.

[Elizabeth Rahn]

One of my favorite past times with two of my friends when they came over to my house. The tea cup was probably the easiest for me to do.

[Eric Williams]

Rather fun activity for kids. This book certainly helped me occupy my time.

[Denise Kettering]

An excellent to-do with illustrations that explains some basic string tricks. Great introductory book for kids wanting to learn some basic tricks.

[Sunshine]

Rating: 4.5/5
Recommendation: Only serious and boring people won't like this (so if that's you, then pass on it)

It doesn't matter how old I get, I still really love this book! It's so fun to do and the instructions are clear and simple. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it doesn't have enough "single player" options.

[Angela]

This library book appears to have had a shoelace string attached at one time (punch-holes in the cover). The main attribute is the hardboard pages and hold-open spine so one person can do the games by onesself. The clear high-color illustrations reveal red sections of the string, which shows the next piece of string to be picked up. It is laid out in 1-2-3 style, and shows two colors of hands for the games for 2 people.

[Aegean]

My childhood!

[Kiersten]

Lo-ve-It. i can do every thing in this book without looking. And now all of my friends have it and are learing just as fast as I did.

[Monica]

A cute book about the string games for children. I remember playing this game when I was a kid and wanted to share it with my children.

[Sylvia]

Will keep children busy for hours.

[Sally]

Got this through Scholastic; kids loved it.

[Jenna]

Yep, i used to know how to make a witches broom (simple, i know) by heart.... oh well.

[Cws]

JESmall-Joh