Product Description

Like sit next to a porcupine on the subway (ouch!). Or hold hands with a lobster (double ouch!). Or take a shark to the dentist (triple ouch!).

Bestselling author JUDI BARRETT and imaginative illustrator JOHN NICKLE give us a raucous look at the perils of taking giraffes to the movies, goats to the library, and pigs out to lunch...and other such silly stuff.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26699 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 34 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781416907244
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2—In this compilation of advice, Barrett once again puts a humorous spin on otherwise mundane scenarios, juxtaposing seemingly serious wisdom with absurdity. In addition to the title admonition, warnings such as "Never go shopping for shoes with a centipede," "Never play double Dutch with a grasshopper," and "Never hold hands with a lobster" are fairly self-explanatory, while others rely more heavily on the artwork. Fortunately, Nickle cleverly illustrates each of these cautionary statements with careful acrylic images that will be appreciated by kids. As in Things That Are Most in the World (S & S, 1998), he takes Barrett's amusing phrases and paints them with details that expose the silliness. Statements like "Never go to the bank with a raccoon" become hilarious when combined with the looks on the faces of the animals involved. And "Never take a goat with you to the library" is sure to get a laugh at storytimes. After all of the negative warnings, the book concludes on a positive suggestion to "always go shopping with a pelican," tidily wrapping up the book.—Piper Nyman, Brookmeade Elementary School, Nashville, TN
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Barrett, the author of such popular books as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (1978), presents examples of experiences with animals that one should largely avoid. Although she suggests it’s OK to go shopping with a pelican, it’s not good to take a giraffe to the movies (the page unfolds to accommodate the giraffe’s long neck) or go to the shoe store with a centipede. Some reasons for caution seem obvious (nobody need ants at a picnic); others are more dependent on the illustrations. Young viewers will appreciate the structural consistency of the book. A statement declaring what one shouldn’t do appears on the left-hand page, opposite a full-page illustration showing the consequences of ignoring the advice. The colorful acrylic illustrations are populated entirely with animals, often oddly juxtaposed. Yet the very incongruity, along with the animals’ various antics and the expressions on the characters’ faces are all part of the fun and fit perfectly with the droll humor of the concept. This is sure to be another crowd-pleaser. Preschool-Grade 2. --Randall Enos

About the Author
Judi Barrett is the author of many well-loved books for children, including Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, and Things That Are Most in the World. She teaches art to kindergarten students at a school in her Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood. And she usually doesn't mind going to the dentist!

John Nickle is the illustrator of Judi Barrett's Things That Are Most in the World, as well as the author and illustrator of TV Rex, Alphabet Explosion!: Search and Count from Alien to Zebra, and The Ant Bully, which was recently made into a major animated film. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with one wife, four cats, and one dog, and they never all take a bath together. Learn more about him at www.johnnickle.net.

Customer Reviews

Goofy fun
This read-aloud book has wacky, detailed illustrations that are certain to bring on the giggles. Kids will eat it up.

Each two-page spread has, on the left, straightforward advice on what not to do. On the right is a full-color illustration showing why the advice is good. For example, "Never go to the bank with a raccoon" is accompanied by an illustration of a crowded bank with everybody but the raccoon holding up their hands. All the bank patrons are looking on with horror at the little innocent raccoon, who of course looks like a robber with his black face mask.

Other spreads warn against sitting next to a porcupine on the subway, shoe shopping with a centipede, knitting a hat for a moose, inviting an ant to a picnic, taking a giraffe to the movies and more. The illustration of the giraffe in the movie theater is a foldout that shows the giraffe's long neck extending up and through the roof.

Much of the charm is in the details. In the giraffe illustration, the giraffe isn't only blocking everyone behind him with his neck, he is also slurping on a very, very long straw that is made up of normal-length straws slid together. In the centipede illustration, the bug is holding a tiny Visa card with her front foot.

Another reason the book will make you smile is that everyone in it is an animal, but doing human activities. Rabbits fill the movie theater, eating popcorn and drinking soda, watching two rabbits kiss on the big screen. Everyday scenes on a subway, in a cafeteria or in a mall are populated with animals acting and dressing like normal people.

It's all very silly, and sure to be a favorite at bedtime.

My Grandchildren Loved This
So now if you ask my almost four year old twin grandsons if they should take a shark to the dentist, they shriek with laughter and say no. They loved this book and now want to read it all the time.

Never Take a Shark to the Dentist and Other Things Not to Do
As a grandmother and former teacher, I am always looking for new and clever children's books! This one is simply wonderful! So engaging and so clever! The illustrations enhance the wonderful and creative theme! BRAVO! Certainly a book I have earmarked for future gifts. My grandchildren adore it!