Monday, April 16, 2018

Nothing Happens In This Book, A Review


Amazon          Goodreads          Barnes and Noble
Books-A-Million                    Book Depository

Book Description

Reader, don't waste your time with this book. ?You might as well stick it back on the shelf,? the narrator warns. ?Or toss it under your bed. You don't need to read it because it looks like nothing happens in this book.? But, wait, he's spotted something. There's a trumpet without a trumpeter. And there's a tiny car without a driver. And a baton without a twirler. Maybe if you keep turning the pages, you'll find out who is missing these items. Maybe they are all together, getting ready to do something awesome. Maybe something amazing does happen in this book after all!

Review

I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.

This is one of the most interesting picture books I've ever read. The illustrations have a bit of a vintage vibe and the narrator from the beginning speculates that the book is about .... nothing. The pages turn from full black to light shining and revealing an odd assortment of items. Suddenly, the pages are full of inanimate objects and our narrator is now convinced that something exciting must happen in the book. The book ends with pages full of interesting things to see as the parade marches across the final pages.
This is a great book for young children for a variety of reasons. First, there are not a lot of words so it will definitely hold their attention. It's also great for introducing objects and the function they perform. I think this would be a fun book to read and then have students plan a parade on their own. For older students, it's a great example of how to present a problem and then build suspense in writing.

I gave this book: