Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

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.Ī riotously fresh take on breaking the fourth wall. Nonsense words, silly words to be sung and even a smattering of potty talk for good measure all coalesce in riotous read-aloud fare. Employing direct address, it pleads with the implied child listener to allow him or her to stop reading.

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. What this book does have is text, and it’s presented through artful typography that visually conveys its changing tone to guide oral readings. has brown hair and blue eyes,” in order to keep with the book’s central conceit. The jacket flap even eschews a glossy photo, instead saying “B.J. 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. Television writer, actor and comedian Novak delivers a rare find, indeed: a very good celebrity picture book. This book may not have pictures, but it’s sure to inspire lots of conversations-and laughs.

The book with no pictures author