The title of the book lets the kids know from page one that, unlike most kids’ books, there aren’t ANY illustrations in this book. Novak’s first children’s book adopts a similar strategy, albeit with a clever twist. Grover appears and essentially tells the listening kids, “If you turn the page, terrible, TERRIBLE things will happen!” (Which might be the best incentive for reading I’ve ever heard.) Or look at perhaps the best read-aloud book EVER, Jon Stone’s The Monster at the End of This Book. The book opens with the bus driver handing over his authority to the listening children, telling them “whatever you do, don’t let the pigeon drive the bus.” The parent then takes over the role of the curious pigeon and, while they get to ham it up as the pigeon, the kids participate by screaming “NO!” Look at Mo Willems’ Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. How do you do that? You give them POWER, or, at the very least, the illusion of power. So, we’ve established that the guy’s a good writer, but what’s remarkable about The Book with No Pictures is how well Novak understands the nuances of a great read-aloud book.Īny really, really amazing kids’ read-aloud book, first and foremost, has to turn the kids into engaged listeners. This is a great, great book, which isn’t that surprising because Novak released a collection of short stories earlier this year, One More Thing, which, I have to say, was excellent. It’s a total vanity project, right? NOPE. You probably know Novak from NBC’s The Office, so I know what you’re thinking – celebrity author.
Even if the book did made me scream “Blork!” and admit to my daughter that I’m really a “robot monkey.” (Or two or however many kids you have.) And, if you’re looking for a great script for your next storytime performance, I would definitely recommend B.J.
It’s this lovely little monologue, a screenplay with storyboards included, a script for your onstage debut, performing your lines for a bedtime audience of one. They’re almost more like a play-script than a traditional book. Sure, there are picture books that are made for kids to read on their own, but there are also those wonderful picture books that are designed specifically for parents to read aloud to their children. One of the many reasons why I love picture books is because they’re one of the few forms of literature that actually anticipate that you won’t be reading them alone.
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