Don't

by Litsa Trochatos, Virginia Johnson (Illustrator)

Overview

This cleverly conceived board book appeals to a young child’s sense of fun while providing facts about different animals. A series of impossible but delightful-to-imagine cautionary statements are followed by informative explanations:

 

Don’t take a bath with a pig.
It loves wallowing in the mud.

 

Don’t start a food fight with an octopus.
It has six more arms than you do.

The simplicity and humor in the text and watercolor illustrations will make this book a story-time favorite.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554983551
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	10/01/2014
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Litsa Trochatos is an interior designer who also enjoys painting and photography. She was inspired to write this story — her first book — when her young nephew was born.

Virginia Johnson is a well-known textile designer who creates beautiful colorful prints for clothing and home furnishings. She has also illustrated This New Baby by Teddy Jam.

Editorial Reviews

Cleverly conceived and filled with soft, playful yet detailed watercolor illustrations, this oversize board book is one that children may keep requesting long past toddlerhood.

The New York Times - Maria Russo

★ 10/13/2014
Trochatos debuts with a series of gently funny riddles/warnings, alerting readers why they should avoid inviting a bear to a winter sleepover (“It won’t wake up till spring”) or letting a penguin pilot a plane (“It can’t fly”). Johnson’s carefree watercolors revel in the playful setups: a child in a high chair is pummeled with fruit and a milk carton after unwisely starting a food fight with a magenta octopus, while on the next page (“Don’t let a cheetah drive your car”), a license plate that reads “FASTER” offers a clue about this animal’s attitude toward speed limits. An understated delight. Up to age 3. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

A raucous romp through all the don’ts of playing with animal friends.

Today's Parent

Johnson’s naive-style paintings are a neat match to the silly outcomes that could easily emerge from any kid’s imagination.

Booklist

Litsa Trochatos’ don’t-instructions are most definitely delightful, goofy entertainment for all ages . . . Even more funny-bone tickling, though, are Virginia Johnson’s irreverent illustrations.

BookDragon

Fresh, unpredictable, and squarely in a toddler’s humor wheelhouse.

Horn Book

How refreshing and sensible. . . . Now if only all the don'ts in the world were as intelligent.

Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

Praise for This New Baby:
“...delicate illustrations and ephemeral imagery.” — Publishers Weekly



"Trochatos debuts with a series of gently funny riddles/warnings . . . Johnson’s carefree watercolors revel in the playful setups." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Great for one-on-one sharing or for inciting a room full of giggles at story time." — Kirkus Reviews

"Fresh, unpredictable, and squarely in a toddler’s humor wheelhouse." — Horn Book

"A raucous romp through all the don’ts of playing with animal friends." — Today's Parent

"Litsa Trochatos’ don’t-instructions are most definitely delightful, goofy entertainment for all ages . . . Even more funny-bone tickling, though, are Virginia Johnson’s irreverent illustrations." — BookDragon

"How refreshing and sensible. . . . Now if only all the don'ts in the world were as intelligent." — Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

From the Publisher

12/01/2014
PreS-Gr 1—A collection of quirky admonishments for budding contrarians. Trochatos offers children rules for successful living by telling them what not to do. Examples include "Don't start a food fight with an octopus," "Don't let a cheetah drive your car," and "Don't invite a bear to a sleepover in winter." The results of not taking this advice are made quite clear in the splashy and super silly watercolors. The humor and situations require a bit more sophistication than is typical in most board books, but readers will still enjoy it.

School Library Journal

2014-09-14
You have to be careful around animals, you know, or things can get crazy—fast. Pithy, peculiar rules, such as "Don't start a food fight with an octopus," appear on the right-hand pages, with the reasons behind the odd admonitions appearing once the page is turned: "It has six more arms that you do." The illustrations here depict a young boy and a red octopus seated across a food-laden table with pieces of fruit lifted in the air, poised to throw, followed by a scene of delightful culinary chaos in which the octopus definitely has the edge. Little ones are also warned not to let a cheetah drive the car (it likes to go too fast), invite a bear to spend a winter's night (it will refuse to leave till spring) and more. The whimsical watercolor illustrations add humor and charm. Particularly fetching are the ones of a little girl using her weight to try to yank the covers off the bear who has burrowed into her bed and the final scene of a seesaw with a hippo weighing down one end and a little boy so high in the air on the opposite side that he is visible only from the chest down. Great for one-on-one sharing or for inciting a room full of giggles at storytime, though developmentally, it reaches beyond the traditional board-book audience. (Board book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews