The Nowhere Box

by Sam Zuppardi, Sam Zuppardi (Illustrator)

Overview

Could George’s escape from his pesky brothers be a bit too successful? An ode to imagination —and annoying but indispensable siblings.

George’s little brothers wreck his toys and his games and trail after him wherever he goes. Try as he might, there’s just no hiding from them. George has had enough! So he commandeers an empty washing machine box and goes to the one place his brothers can’t follow: Nowhere. Nowhere is amazing! It’s magnificent! It’s also, however, free of pirates and dragons and . . . well, anyone at all. From the talented Sam Zuppardi comes an all-too-relatable story of an older brother who knows when he needs his space — and when he needs his siblings — played out in charmingly offbeat illustrations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763663674
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	11/12/2013
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.74(w) x 9.34(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sam Zuppardi says he used to draw cartoons at school when he was supposed to be doing work. Among other things, he has worked in a book warehouse, a bookstore, and a toy store, and is currently working with children. The Nowhere Box is his first picture book. He lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

Zuppardi’s art, done in mixed media, is the perfect complement to a tale about young boys and imagination. His rough, sketchy style..., bright palette and prominent use of cut, torn and colored cardboard gives readers a kid’s perspective and makes it seem as if this truly is the siblings’ story. ... George shows readers how imagination (and a few simple household items) can transport them to another world…and the ties that will bring them home.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The artwork is sophisticated in its two-dimensional, contoured comic style as well as in the materials it utilizes. ... The discovery of the need for playing together balanced with the need to be alone and the role of the imagination in navigating these important social poles speaks to kids of a variety of ages
—School Library Journal

George’s plight will be familiar to kids dealing with exasperating brothers and sisters or a budding sense of introversion, and his isolationist escapism is treated both gently and enthusiastically. Zuppardi’s untidy illustrations in acrylic and pencil are kid-inspired with their scratchy, repeated outlines and thick, unevenly applied coloration; cardboard is used in the presentation of George’s imagined worlds in Nowhere, giving the pictures a rough, three-dimensional whimsy and providing a clever nod to the box itself. George—whose red striped shirt and boxy imagination are reminiscent of Watterson’s Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes in iconicity if not in nature—and his brothers are little more than glorified stick figures with huge heads, yet just a few facial details allows them to be strikingly expressive. Bound to appeal to a wide range of kids because of its celebration of both collaborative and solitary play, this could be used in a storytime about siblings or imagination...
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Making his picture book debut, Zuppardi, whose exuberantly scrawled pencil line and variegated palette is reminiscent of David Shannon, finds a rich source of inspiration in cardboard, painting and manipulating it to create George’s pretend adventures.
—Publishers Weekly

Though Nowhere starts as vast blank space, once George overturns his box, out tumble beautifully animated, page-filling illustrations made out of painted and torn cardboard. ... Zuppardi’s expressive and playful illustrations are a delight to behold.
—Booklist Online

[A]n invigorating tribute to the power of a child’s imagination. ... Zuppardi’s loose, energetic lines and primarily full-bleed spreads bring us George’s highs and lows — his manic glee in escaping his siblings and, when the book opens, his despair at their intrusions. There’s a certain level of hyperbole at work here that is very funny.
—BookPage Children's Corner

There are countless children’s books about the power of the imagination, but few are as pitch- perfect as The Nowhere Box. There are several pages that stop the reader dead in his or her tracks as Zuppardi’s illustrations pour over the page.
—The Atlantic Wire

The natural cycle of an older brother's exasperation, longing for solitude and eventual return to the cheery noise of his brothers plays out in a funny fashion in Sam Zuppardi's 'The Nowhere Box'... The young reader will cheer for George but also feel a pang for the boys he left behind. ... [An] exuberantly illustrated picture book.
—The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

★ 2013-10-01
Annoying siblings drive an imaginative young boy to "Nowhere," but loneliness and a lack of good villains draw him home. George's two little brothers, unnamed Everysiblings, are gleefully wrecking his imaginative play, destroying and toppling with abandon. Worse, George has no place he can get away from them. Finally, he answers their "Where are you going?" with "Nowhere," and the box from the washing machine (and a marker and scissors) will help him get there. Climbing in, with helmet, goggles and flashlight, he pushes a button and arrives in Nowhere--a "vast and empty" place. But by upending his box, he spills out all sorts of building materials to fuel his exuberant adventures; meanwhile, his brothers search the house for him. But in Nowhere, without dragons and pirates to fight, the novelty of being alone soon wears off, no matter the loopy roller coaster or cool rocket, and George heads home to a joyful sibling reunion. Zuppardi's art, done in mixed media, is the perfect complement to a tale about young boys and imagination. His rough, sketchy style (people are little more than stick figures with big heads), bright palette and prominent use of cut, torn and colored cardboard give readers a kid's perspective and makes it seem as if this truly is the siblings' story. While the parallels to Max are obvious, George shows readers how imagination (and a few simple household items) can transport them to another world…and the ties that will bring them home. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews