messes

Not Me!: A Jolly Mess of a Book

| Tasha

51gcqq5L05L

Not Me! by Nicola Killen

Messes and small children go together in this book.  Someone has been making a series of messes, but when each child is asked, they reply with a merry “Not me!”  Readers will immediately know the truth though, because the clues are there to tie that mischievous child to the mess that surrounds them.  Add in one small dog, and the messiness is complete until it’s time to clean up…

A book with only a few words per page that focus more on the visual cues than on the words themselves.  The text asks who has made that specific mess and then has the reply of the child denying that it was them.  The repetition makes for a rollicking pace that is great fun to read aloud and is perfect for even the smallest of toddlers.   Killen’s illustrations are done in mixed media with a combination of stencils, collage, and stamping.  The effect is sweet and jolly.  She uses primarily pastels with bright pops of primary colors. 

This is a book that children will love and will ask to have read to them again and again.  Who wouldn’t want to read it?  Not me!  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy received from Egmont.

Also reviewed by The Book Chook.

Nobody

| Tasha

Nobody by Liz Rosenberg, illustrated by Julie Downing

Released May 25, 2010.

A charmer of a book about a boy and his imaginary friend, Nobody.  This allows for plenty of wordplay in the book with Nobody telling the boy to do anything, Nobody helping him, and Nobody cleaning up.  George woke up early in the morning and with Nobody’s advice decided to make a feast!  So he and Nobody raid the refrigerator, mix all sorts of things together including eggs, chocolate syrup and dog biscuits.  Not allowed the turn on the stove, the two friends had to wait.  So they played cards.  Nobody won.  George then invented his own game which he won.  When his parents woke up, they were surprised by the mess.  As they took the matter in hand, Nobody began to shrink and disappear until George called him back to help make pancakes for breakfast.

I’ve always loved wordplay and we don’t see enough of it in books for preschoolers.  Especially this kind of subtle playing where it can be ignored without losing the story, or enjoyed as another dimension of the book.  Rosenberg’s text is great fun to read aloud.  Children will love the concoction the two create together and will immediately understand that Nobody is imaginary.  I also appreciate the parents’ reaction to the morning mess.  They take it in stride and with humor. 

Downing’s illustrations have a soft quality that works well in this early morning story filled with imagination.  She uses sploshes and drips of paint to great effect as the kitchen becomes messier and messier.  George is quite a small child in the illustrations, which will make it inviting to young children to join in the adventure.

Recommended, this is a great book to share when doing story times on cooking or messes.  Nobody makes a mess quite like this one!  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.