The Book with No Pictures

by B. J. Novak Narrated by B. J. Novak, Busy Phillipps

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

This book has no pictures. Seriously. But it does have super fun words on each page that will have everyone giggling.

This innovative and wildly funny read-aloud by award-winning humorist/actor B.J. Novak will turn any reader into a comedian.
You might think a book with no pictures seems boring and serious. Except . . . here's how books work. Everything written on the page has to be said by the person reading it aloud. Even if the words say . . .

BLORK. Or BLUURF.

Even if the words are a preposterous song about eating ants for breakfast, or just a list of astonishingly goofy sounds like BLAGGITY BLAGGITY and GLIBBITY GLOBBITY.

Cleverly irreverent and irresistibly silly, The Book with No Pictures is one that kids will beg to hear again and again. (And parents will be happy to oblige.)

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review - Mark Levine

…raucous and illuminating…a formalist free-for-all…

From the Publisher

"Conceptually radical . . . making the refreshing and contrarian case that words alone have sensory and imaginative vibrancy to spare."—Mark Levine, The New York Times Book Review

* "“This book may not have pictures, but it's sure to inspire lots of conversations—and laughs . . . A riotously fresh take on breaking the fourth wall.”"— Kirkus, starred review

"This book is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, and it’s perfect for one-on-one sharing with a parent or caregiver. Expect requests for repeated readings."—School Library Journal

"Actor Novak’s expert sense of comic timing is on full display in his first picture book . . . sure to deliver big laughs."— Publishers Weekly

"Listeners will be tickled by hearing adults say ridiculous things . . . The comic pacing and foolproof theatrics ensure a wild and silly trip through the pages for everyone."— The Horn Book

"This picture book with no pictures knows a thing or two about both books and kid-friendly comedy . . . Once children get the joke, they'll want to play it on as many of their grownups as possible."— The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Unlike any of the children's books you read growing up."— Bustle.com

"Will have little ones laughing and finding a new appreciation for words."— Entertainment Weekly

"A perfectly-pitched tool for parental humiliation and childish glee."— The Boston Globe 

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2014-07-16
This book may not have pictures, but it's sure to inspire lots of conversations—and laughs. Television writer, actor and comedian Novak delivers a rare find, indeed: a very good celebrity picture book. It doesn't even seem fair to call it such, since it has nothing to do with his Emmy Award-winning writing for The Office or the fame his broader career has afforded him. The jacket flap even eschews a glossy photo, instead saying "B.J. has brown hair and blue eyes," in order to keep with the book's central conceit. What this book does have is text, and it's presented through artful typography that visually conveys its changing tone to guide oral readings. Furthermore, the text implies (or rather, demands) a shared reading transaction, in which an adult is compelled to read the text aloud, no matter how "COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS" it is. Employing direct address, it pleads with the implied child listener to allow him or her to stop reading. Nonsense words, silly words to be sung and even a smattering of potty talk for good measure all coalesce in riotous read-aloud fare. Although the closing pages beg the implied child reader to "please please please please / please / choose a book with pictures" for subsequent reading, it's likely that this request will be ignored. A riotously fresh take on breaking the fourth wall. (Picture book. 3-8)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169209532
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	09/30/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

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