This Is Not a Picture Book!

by Sergio Ruzzier

Overview

In this quirky yet sweet picture book about the joy and power of reading, Duck learns that even books without pictures can be fun. While he and his friend Bug may struggle at first to decipher their book, they stick with it, and before long they discover that not only can they read it, but it deserves a place on the shelf with all their favorite picture books. Author-artist Sergio Ruzzier has created a fanciful tribute to books of all kinds. It includes both words AND pictures. And because this is the fixed-format version, it looks almost identical to the print edition!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452139371
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	05/03/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Sergio Ruzzier was born in Milan, Italy. He is the creator of a series of comic strips for Linus, the Italian comics magazine. His work has received accolades from Parents' Choice, American Illustration, the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, the Society of Publication Designers, and more. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

…[In] this sweet, profound book…Ruzzier pays a sneaky tribute to the power of words and pictures to work together—and apart.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 02/22/2016
This isn’t a book about books; it’s a book about learning to read. A duckling with a pink beak picks up a fat volume and discovers, in the irritated comment of the title, that it has no pictures. “Can you read it?” asks his sidekick, a bug. “I’m not sure,” says the duckling. “Words are so difficult.” In luminous watercolors, Ruzzier (Two Mice) shows the duckling and bug crossing into a strange, many-colored world, where unfamiliar words are represented as odd machines, blobby shapes, and bizarre creatures. When the duckling stumbles on a word he knows (“bee,” “flower”), its recognizable image pops up among the mysterious ones. Duckling and bug wander through the ever-changing landscape of reading—“There are wild words... and peaceful words”—before landing cozily in bed. Ruzzier’s story offers gentle empathy for kids tackling this intimidating task. Observant readers will note that the endpapers represent learning to read, too; the initial pair retells the story as a beginner might see it, with most of the words scrambled, while the words of the final endpapers read clearly—and no pictures there, either. Ages 3–5. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"A fun picture book about the beauty of words."—GeekDad

«"An affirmation of the transformative power of reading."-Kirkus Reviews, starred review

«"A book about learning to read. offers gentle empathy for kids tackling this intimidating task."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

The Huffington Post Best Picture Books of the Year

Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

New York Times Notable Book of the Year"

Sweet, profound book... pays a sneaky tribute to the power of words and pictures to work together. Brilliant endpapers."—The New York Times"

Read. Share. Repeat. This one is a joy."—Julie Danielson, Kirkus Reviews"

Effectively demonstrates the magic of reading and the power of imagination."-School Library Journal, starred review"

Cleverly invites new readers into an enticing world of discovery."-Booklist"

A pitch for reading-a magic act that turns words into pictures."-The Horn Book

From the Publisher

A duckling discovers a book and anticipates seeing the illustrations. When he finds no pictures in the book, he punts the book to show his disappointment. The duckling feels remorse for his action. With the company of a bookbug, duckling reexamines the book and sees it in a new light. He finds comfort in known words and surprising adventures in the new words. The illustrations have a significant role in the story. The story begins before the title page with the duckling finding the book. Once the adventure starts colors and imaginary characters fill the pages to demonstrate examples of how words paint different images. For instance, the duckling and bookbug travel together in a whimsical picture of imaginary creatures; this setting represents funny words. While riding in a boat on the high seas, the duckling is reading wild words. Although the words in the story are sparse, readers should take note of the front and back end pages, which are filled with words. The back end pages have just the text of the story; the front pages also have the text, except for a portion of the words having scrambled letters. Older children may notice the symbolism throughout the book. This story has messages for readers of all ages. Reviewer: Carrie Hane Hung; Ages 4 to 7.

Children's Literature - Carrie Hane Hung

12/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—A duckling taking a walk stumbles upon a book only to discover it contains no pictures (the outrage!). However, the duckling decides to give the pictureless book a chance, and embarks on a journey through a landscape of familiar and unfamiliar words. The pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations expand in color and imagination as the value of reading becomes clear. Humorously tender and always sympathetic, this title captures the magic of a child's first venture into independent reading.

School Library Journal

★ 2016-03-02
A metafictive delight of a picture book. Alice would be pleased: despite Ruzzier's title, there are plenty of pictures and ample conversation in this picture book. The titular book within the book, however, is illustration-free. This initially causes distress for the duckling protagonist (who oddly has a bellybutton, but that's beside the point) who finds the book in the spreads before the title page. When a bug appears and asks, "Can you read it?" the duckling gives it a try. In a brilliant feat of page layout, the recto depicts a green landscape encroaching on the verso, with a log laid across a chasm as a bridge to the white space on which the duckling and bug stand. Their walk across the log is a visual metaphor for the duckling's successful decoding of the text in its pictureless book. Whole worlds open up to them as the duckling reads aloud. Illustrations depict these worlds evoked by "wild words… / and peaceful words," and the duckling ultimately declares that "All these words carry you away." The satisfying conclusion is an affirmation of the transformative power of reading. In one outstanding design touch, the front endpapers tell the not-a-picture-book text in garbled type with transposed letters that one must strain to decode, while the text is clear in its entirety on the back ones. This is a (great) picture book! (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews