The Invisible String

With over 2 million copies sold, this accessible, bestselling picture book phenomenon about the unbreakable connections between loved ones has healed generations of children and adults alike. A new version featuring many different families, The Invisible String Family Celebration, and a companion workbook, The Invisible String Workbook, are also available.

Parents, educators, therapists, and social workers alike have declared The Invisible String the perfect tool for coping with all kinds of separation anxiety, loss, and grief. It's also been joyfully embraced as a year-round celebration of love--gifted at births, graduations, weddings, Valentine's Day, and beyond. In this relatable and reassuring contemporary classic, a mother tells her two children that they're all connected by an invisible string. "That's impossible!" the children insist, but still they want to know more: "What kind of string?" The answer is the simple truth that binds us all: An Invisible String made of love. Even though you can't see it with your eyes, you can feel it deep in your heart, and know that you are always connected to the ones you love. Does everybody have an Invisible String? How far does it reach? Does it ever go away? This heartwarming picture book for all ages explores questions about the intangible yet unbreakable connections between us, and opens up deeper conversations about love.

Recommended and adopted by parenting blogs, bereavement support groups, hospice centers, foster care and social service agencies, military library services, church groups, and educators, The Invisible String offers a very simple approach to overcoming loneliness, separation, or loss with an imaginative twist that children easily understand and embrace, and delivers a particularly compelling message in today's uncertain times. This special paperback edition includes vibrant new illustrations and an introduction from the author.

Recommended by Oprah Daily! • A Good Housekeeping Best Children’s Book of All Time • As seen on CNN

"This book is a beautiful way to begin to try, as parents, to instill in children the impenetrable power of the heart, the energy of love, and the flow that can be felt from the grace in every moment." —Tony Robbins

Read all the books in The Invisible String series:
The Invisible String Family Celebration
The Invisible String Backpack: Your very own tool kit for school—and life!
The Invisible String Workbook: Creative Activities to Comfort, Calm, and Connect
The Invisible Leash: An Invisible String Story About the Loss of a Pet​
The Invisible Web: An Invisible String Story Celebrating Love and Universal Connection
You Are Never Alone: An Invisible String Lullaby

Patrice Karst is the bestselling author of The Invisible String, a contemporary children’s classic that has sold more than 2.5 million copies and been translated into 21 languages. Beloved by children, families, teachers, therapists, and grief counselors around the world, her work explores the enduring power of love, connection, and comfort across time and distance.

In addition to The Invisible String, Patrice is the author of many other children’s books including, The Invisible Leash, The Invisible Web, You Are Never Alone, The Invisible String Workbook, The Invisible String Backpack, The Invisible String Family Celebration, How Jackson Found His Joy Again, The Smile That Went Around the World, and Ruby and Lonely.

Her adult book, God Made Easy: A Simple Guide to Connecting with the Divine, brings the same warmth, clarity, and open-hearted wisdom to readers seeking a simpler, more personal way to understand and experience God. First inspired by a dream in 1995, the book invites people of all religions, spiritual paths, and levels of belief to rediscover the Divine as loving, present, accessible, and never far away.

Patrice has been on a lifelong mission to share the message that love transcends time and space and is the most powerful force in the universe. She lives in Santa Barbara, where she is currently working on her memoir.

Over 2 MILLION copies sold!
A USA Today Bestseller
An Amazon Bestseller
A Publishers Weekly Bestseller
A Good Housekeeping Best Children’s Book of All Time
Recommended by Oprah Daily

"A wonderful storybook for children experiencing separation anxiety."―Today's Parent

"It’s the most beautiful, beautiful book, and it actually makes me cry every time."―Sara Haines, ABC’s The View

“Unravel some of the complexities of grief for young children with this bestselling book.”―CNN Underscored

"Delivers a particularly compelling message in today's uncertain times that though we may be separated from the ones we care for, love is the unending connection that binds us all."―The American Academy of Pediatrics

"[Promotes] a vision of global unity and empathy...effective."
―Kirkus

"Whether kids are having separation anxiety or dealing with divorce or even death, this sweet story is very reassuring."
―Motherly

"Children of all ages (and yes, adults too!) feel a great sense of peace and joy realizing that we are all connected to the ones we love through The Invisible String."―The National Association of School Psychologists

"The message of The Invisible String resonates with children and adults alike.... The two ends of the treasured Invisible String are families and schools. This String, reinforced on each side, buoys students with love, guidance, direction. But when one end weakens, the entire String falters.... When we need support, reassurance, or simply a kindred spirit, just give the String a tug and someone will tug back. This is powerful, and will keep your child on track through...his or her education journey."―Carmen Fariña, former Chancellor, NYC Department of Education

Praise for the Spanish edition of The Invisible String, El Hilo Invisible:

"A lovely picture book depicting a love that connects everyone, and a wonderful choice for children who experience anxiety and worry when separated from their loved ones." —School Library Journal