Cat’s Cradle String Games by Camilla Gryski, 1983.

Back when I was in middle school, I went through a phase where I was really into cat’s cradle. I’m one of those people who like to have something to fiddle with in their hands, and it was easy to carry a loop of string in my pocket. If I lost the string, I could always make another string loop and carry that. This was the book that I used to teach myself how to make cat’s cradle string figures.

The book begins with a section that explains the terminology of making string figures and how to start out with the string in a basic position on the hands.

From there, the book covers how to make various string figures. As the book demonstrates how to make different figures, it explains a little about which cultures use them. Cat’s cradle and similar string games are played around the world, and different cultures have had different names for some of the same figures. For example the “cup and saucer” figure can be called a saki cup or maybe a house if it’s held upside down.

Some figures can be made independently of each other, but what turns making string figures into the game of cat’s cradle is the fact that some figures can be turned into other figures in a sequence. The book demonstrates the sequence of making figures involved in playing a game of cat’s cradle. It’s a game for two players with the players each taking the string from each other to form each of the figures. The game ends when one of the players forms one of the ending figures that doesn’t lead to any other figure.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.