Skunk on a String

by Thao Lam

In Skunk on a String, we meet a skunk who has been tied to the tail of a balloon. Try as he might, the persistent critter can’t get anyone to untie him. In this wordless story, he is shooed and swatted through a bustling parade, past the windowpanes of the city’s apartment buildings with their diverse, busy inhabitants, then up to the construction cranes high above the city. He floats through the zoo, into traffic, under water, and eventually lands atop a Ferris wheel. When he finally unties himself, the skunk misses the aerial life — so he comes up with an inspired way to fly again.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Adventure, Fiction, Humor, Canada

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2016

About the author

Thao Lam has been creating pictures for as long as she can remember. For her, drawing has always felt as natural as breathing. She has an insatiable love for coloured and textured papers, which she uses to create her exuberant collages.

Passionate about children’s books, Thao is especially interested in visual storytelling. She draws inspiration from the stories she hears, from the beauty in everyday things, and from the work of the many illustrators she admires. As an art buyer for an educational publishing company, she has the opportunity to work with thousands of different artists from all around the world.

Since studying illustration for three years at Sheridan College in Toronto, Thao has developed her dual careers of illustrating and art buying. Her art works have appeared in publications such as Cricket and Highlight magazines. In 2008, she won the Highlights Five Pewter Plate award for verse illustration of the year. She has twice been chosen for the American Illustration Awards.

Reviews

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skunk on a String - Lam, Thao One of two library books with zoo gates featuring elephants, and, for that matter, rather old-fashioned looking zoos.

The paper collages are so lovely, I encourage you to pick it up.

***

Beautiful art, and fine visual storytelling.


Library copy

[Danielle]

The paper cut-out art is fantastic.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Cute concept, but the artwork didn't do it for me and LOTS of questions that don't really get answered. Cute, but not my fav. 3 ok stars.

[Blanco Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh no!
Skunk's tail is tied to a balloon. But instead of helping, people shoo him away.
He travels through the city, a zoo, and far away places.
What will skunk do?

Very expressive illustrations using patterned paper cutouts.

[Becky Loader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love with the lovely illustrations, which were created with printed paper. Such artistic talent!
Oh, and Skunk is also lovely. Lots of details, and you really don't need words.

[Cecelia Costello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skunk on a String, By Thao Lam

This book is a wordless picture book. In the story a skunk is stuck in a red balloon, and he floats through many different places. The skunk floats through a parade and then up near apartment windows and over to a construction site. The skunk makes his way to the zoo, on a garbage truck, and then near the water. All this time, everyone is afraid of the skunk, and no one will help him get unstuck. The balloon carries him through a few other places before he ends up at a fair. The skunk lands on the Ferris wheel where he can untie himself from the red balloon. Once the balloon floats away we can see the skunk gets sad. He makes his way down to the balloon stand and makes himself a backpack of balloons so he can continue his adventures when he wants. Although there were no words throughout this whole text, the reader was still able to understand the story based off the illustrations and the facial expressions of the characters. I really liked this book and thought it was different from any other picture book I’ve seen. I would read this book to a 1st grade class and really dive into the illustrations with them so they could follow along with the story.

[Adrianna Laskowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Copyright-2016
Number of Pages-40
Book Format- Hardcover
Reading Level- Age level: N/A; GR: N/A
Genre- picture book, fiction
Lit Requirement- Wordless book 1

Summary- The book begins with a parade of balloons. A skunk is tied to one of the balloons after the balloons are let go of. He's floating through the city trying to grab on to things (ex. elephant's trunk at zoo) to stop himself. He keeps passing different locations trying to grab anything he can until he finally makes it into a ferris wheel. He unties himself and gets off the ride when it stops. He sees more balloons and scares the people around the balloon cart. He takes all the balloons and sets out to do it all again.

Response- I was never really a fan of wordless books because my imagination was so poor, but this was an easy to follow/understand book. It showed how persistent the skunk was and that could be a good lesson to teach.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the book opens, readers are introduced to the main character as he floats by, foot tied to a balloon, as he disrupts a parade. From there his aerial adventures continue until he can finally free himself from this red floaty thing. But does a life on the ground hold any charm for a skunk who has had adventures in the sky?

This is completely wordless so you have to pay close attention to the illustrations. I kinda wish we knew how the skunk had ended up tied to the balloon in the first place. Maybe a prequel Ms Lam? My 4 and 5 year old nieces found his adventures humorous. And the illustrations are charming. The ending was a little bit of a surprise. Recommended to wordless book fans, animal fans, and adventure story fans.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A skunk somehow gets tangled on a balloon string and he's off on a fantastic adventure, flying here and there and everywhere! How will he get down? Will anyone save him? Where will he go next? These questions and more await as you "read" this wordless picture book with your little one. Look closely at the pictures...don't miss anything! Let your child tell the story and see what kind of craziness happens next! For ages 3 - 7.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A skunk is carried through the air by a balloon. Others try to catch him/her, but until he/she lands in the seat of a ferris wheel, everything is unsuccessful. In the ferris wheel, he unties the balloon and is free!

The illustrations are cut paper, with good use of various patterned papers.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stylish, nearly wordless, picture book that is quite amusing. Author/Illustrator Thao Lam has captured quite a series of predicaments for this hapless little skunk. Loved the scenery and view points. And the aqua coloured background even.

[Kat Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thao Lam's wordless romp tells the story of a skunk who ends up on a string and all of the scenes that he floats over, looking for a hand. The illustrations are made through paper collages, so the pages have a fun feel and are ripe with texture despite the 2D nature of the pages.

[jennyreadit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who doesn't love wordless books and skunks? Cute skunk is caught in a balloon and travels. When he is released, he discovers he misses the floating adventure and figures out a way to continue it.
I kept wanting to know how did the skunk get in the balloon in the first place?

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are just beautiful and the story is a bit fun and silly. The ending is a bit typical with the skunk being stinky and wanting to escape. But his wonder at the sights he passes on his balloon ride are fun to go through.

[Tarina Nye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so cute. The skunk gets to travel around because he gets caught up in a balloon. I couldn't imagine being tied to a balloon and travelling around like that, which is something that younger students would love to try and imagine.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow a skunk has been tied to a helium balloon and, unable to untie himself, is floating across a city sky.
The art in this is gorgeous, but at times I had a bit of difficulty making sense of the story.

[Nadina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have nothing against wordless pictures books, there are many that are stunning, so that is not why I did not enjoy this book.
For me, I was not a huge fan of the artwork, but in addition I felt that the book just lacked story. It was of very mediocre quality. Just not very enjoyable to me.

[Erin *BookDragon_Library* · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - wordless
Made with collage paper illustrations. I'm not sure how the skunk got on the string because it just kind of appears. it floats through scenes. I don't know what i think of this one. I don't really know of a lesson that could connect with this one.

[Kacey Lundgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

My three year old really liked this book. I grabbed it at the library and didn’t notice there were no words! It was a bit of a challenge to narrate each page but my three year old loved it. She asked to read it again and again.

[AFP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giggles abound about a skunk taking a midday flight with a balloon, and the chaos that ensues. This is a gentle book with no words, so it allowed me to make up a story to entertain A&Z. They enjoyed the whimsy.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the artwork! This would be a great choice for a lap sit or a very small group of kids.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

+1 Art

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A skunk is tied to a string. He floats through town, but can't find anyone to help untie him.

A wordless picture book. A cute story, but not my favorite type of artwork.

[Misbah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations! A cute little skunk gets tied to a balloon and floats away and no one can help him get down. When he finally gets down, he realizes he actually liked it up there.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

stunning collage images

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordless picture book with fabulous collage illustrations.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A whimsically illustrated wordless picture book. The pictures tell a definite story, but also allow plenty of room for kids to make up things as each page is turned.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wordless

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a fun story, and I was amused at the reactions of those who are beneath skunk as he floats along. I was surprised by the ending, but it was an amusing twist.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

wordless books, v evocative!