No, Silly!

No, Silly!

Would you like to sleep on a cookie or eat a book? No, Silly! playfully embraces a toddler’s exploration of classic childhood activities. What do you like to do? This interactive, playful picture book invites toddlers to join the fun as they identify which activities are “right” (learning letters, playing with trucks) and which are “wrong” (riding on beds, sleeping on cookies, eating books). From the wonderfully routine to the hilariously ridiculous, an array of childhood activities fill the pages of this picture book, all the way to its cozy, tender ending. PreS-K—In this charming book, preschoolers share the things they like to do. Bear begins with the places he likes to sleep, including his bed, his dad's chair, his mama's lap, and a pile of cookies. "'No, silly!'" cries Pig, who says that cookies are for eating and then shares the things he likes to eat. When Pig claims to eat books, Mouse cries, "'No, silly!'" and shares the best things to read, including a truck. Rabbit repeats the titular catchphrase and shares the best things in which to ride, including a bed, which prompts all four to conclude the story with their favorite bedtime routines. The story's circular structure and repeated refrain will appeal to young children, as will Krug's soft, colorful oil paintings. The illustrations are a perfect complement to the text, offering visual cues to explain each character's silly suggestion. For example, after Bear claims to sleep on cookies, youngsters see him enjoying a plate of cookies with Pig. Thick white borders with soft edges frame the pages as the animals share their list of likes, while full spreads in real-time settings fill the entire page as each one cries, "'No, silly!'" A winning book for preschoolers and their families.—Lauren Strohecker, McKinley Elementary School, Abington School District, PA "Youngsters will delight in spotting right ("I like to eat apples") from wrong ("I like to eat books") in each situation, the turn of the page always giving them ample time to point out a correction. Krug's oil-paint illustrations are cheery and bright, which add to the whimsy, and interchanging framed pages with double-page spreads gives extra visual cues to help readers spot the silly parts...the sleepy, nighttime conclusion both brings the slight narrative full circle and makes this a surprising bedtime possibility. A well-paced romp with nifty response opportunities for little ones." -- Kirkus ― December 4, 2014 In this charming book, preschoolers share the things they like to do....The story’s circular structure and repeated refrain will appeal to young children, as will Krug’s soft, colorful oil paintings. The illustrations are a perfect complement to the text, offering visual cues to explain each character’s silly suggestion. For example, after Bear claims to sleep on cookies, youngsters see him enjoying a plate of cookies with Pig. Thick white borders with soft edges frame the pages as the animals share their list of likes, while full spreads in real-time settings fill the entire page as each one cries, “‘No, silly!’” A winning book for preschoolers and their families. -- School Library Journal Each section of this concept picture book offers three plausible behaviors (“I like to sleep in my bed. I like to sleep in my dad’s big chair. I like to sleep in my mama’s lap”) and one absurd conclusion (“And I like to sleep on cookies”), allowing for a happy correction (“No, silly! You eat cookies”). The book moves through eating, reading, and riding, and it finally heads off to bedtime—with one last misstep: “And then I like to put Mama and Dad to bed. No, silly . . . Mama and Dad put you to bed.” This draws on the classic little-kid-friendly joke of subverting the known with an obvious mistake...the audience will be happy to chime in on the “No, silly!” refrain. The oil-painted illustrations make a new animal the subject of each sequence with the soft, toylike bear sharing his cookies with a cheerful piglet, who becomes the hero of the eating sequence and passes the baton to a mouse, who moves on to a bunny; the bedtime sequence then cycles through all four animals... -- Bulletin ― April 2015 Ken Krug is an illustrator, designer, and fine artist whose work has appeared in books such as Michelle Obama’s American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America . He lives with his family in New York City. Visit him at KenKrug.com.