Tuesday, September 9, 2008

No David by David Shannon


Booklist (Vol. 95, No. 1 (September 1, 1998))
Ages 3-5.
The author-illustrator of How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball (1994) and A Bad Case of Stripes (1998), among others, aims at a younger audience with this tally of no-nos inspired by a plainly autobiographical book he created as a small child. All little David hears from his mother as he writes on the wall, runs naked down the road, lets water pour over the side of the tub, sticks his finger far, far up his nose, and the like is "No, David!" "That's enough, David!" "Settle down!" Although Shannon's painterly technique is sophisticated, here he artfully gives his illustrations a childlike look, depicting David as a wooden-doll-like figure with a big, round head, cavorting through a neatly kept home replete with invitingly blank walls and fragile knick-knacks. As the book ends with a parental hug and "Yes, David . . . I love you!" it's not completely negative, and because young listeners will know ALL the words, the temptation to chime in will be irresistible.

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