I WILL NOT READ THIS BOOK

Name: I WILL NOT READ THIS BOOK
Author: Cece Meng
ISBN: 978-0-547-04971-7

by Cece Meng & illustrated by Joy Ang ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2011

Although an engaging picture book with accomplished digital illustrations embodying a style akin to Dan Yaccarino’s art,...

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In an appeal to reluctant readers, Meng’s cumulative text will provoke laughter as read-aloud fare.

Delay tactics open the story: A boy refuses to read his book, saying, “I have to floss my teeth and wash behind my ears and feed my fish.” His real reason? “Reading is hard and I don’t read fast and sometimes there are words I don’t know.” Eleven spreads detailing increasingly silly and extreme scenarios demonstrate his resolve through cumulative text displaying an absurdity reminiscent of Michael Ian Black’s Purple Kangaroo (illustrated by Peter Brown, 2010): “I will not read this book even if you hang me upside down / by one toe / over a cliff / while tickling my feet in a rainstorm…” The boy ultimately says he will read the book if he is dropped from his imagined, precarious position hanging from the cliff—“But only if you catch me.” The last page depicts mother, boy and book together, as Ang’s illustration cleverly incorporates elements from the preceding spreads.

Although an engaging picture book with accomplished digital illustrations embodying a style akin to Dan Yaccarino’s art, it’s a shame the text lacks the control that would make it accessible to actual struggling readers. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-547-04971-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
TOUGH CHICKS GO TO BED
by Cece Meng ; illustrated by Melissa Suber

- BOOK REVIEW
TOUGH CHICKS LOVE THEIR MAMA
by Cece Meng ; illustrated by Melissa Suber

- BOOK REVIEW
TOUGH CHICKS TO THE RESCUE!
by Cece Meng ; illustrated by Melissa Suber

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IN THE SKY AT NIGHTTIME

by Laura Deal ; illustrated by Tamara Campeau ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019

A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world.

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A quiet book for putting young children to bed in a state of snowy wonder.

The magic of the north comes alive in a picture book featuring Inuit characters. In the sky at nighttime, snow falls fast. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a raven roosts atop a tall building. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a mother’s delicate song to her child arises like a gentle breeze.” With the repetition of the simple, titular refrain, the author envisions what happens in a small town at night: Young children see their breath in the cold; a hunter returns on his snowmobile; the stars dazzle in the night sky. A young mother rocks her baby to sleep with a song and puts the tot down with a trio of stuffed animals: hare, polar bear, seal. The picture book evokes a feeling of peace as the street lamps, northern lights, and moon illuminate the snow. The illustrations are noteworthy for the way they meld the old world with what it looks like to be a modern Indigenous person: A sled dog and fur-lined parkas combine easily with the frame houses, a pickup truck, power lines, and mobile-hung crib. By introducing Indigenous characters in an unremarkably familiar setting, the book reaches children who don’t always see themselves in an everyday context.

A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-77227-238-3

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Inhabit Media

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE UGLY PLACE
by Laura Deal ; illustrated by Emma Pedersen

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW NIVI GOT HER NAMES
by Laura Deal ; illustrated by Charlene Chua

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PILLOWLAND

by Laurie Berkner ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2017

For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands.

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Berkner’s children’s song gets the picture-book treatment with illustrations from Garoche.

What kid hasn’t made a massive pillow fort and imagined all sorts of adventures? Well, Berkner’s premise is that there is a land where everything is made of pillows, and three lucky children get to visit there. (They appear to be siblings, perhaps a blended family: Mom and one girl are black; Dad, one boy, and one girl are white.) The illustrations transition between depictions of obvious imaginative play in a bedroom to a fantasy world and back again at the end, when the parents peek in at the three asleep. Garoche’s art consists of photos of papercut artwork arranged in dioramas with some Photoshop details. Reminiscent of Michael Garland’s work (though more pastel in color) or that of Elly McKay (though less ethereal), the illustrations are a mixed bag, with layers and hard edges juxtaposed against all the pillows. The king and queen of the song are obviously stand-ins for the parents. Children who know the tune may not sit still for a reading, while those who don’t may wonder at the repeated refrain.

For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands. (Picture book. 3-7)