A few weeks ago, we saw a video clip of B.J. Novak reading his new book to a class of elementary students. It only took about 30 seconds of listening to him read to know that was a book we needed -- just needed! -- to get our hands on. Last weekend, we were lucky enough to get our very own copy, and the laughs and giggles haven't stopped since!
Obviously, if you read this blog, you share my belief that reading with our kids is important. (Really, really important! And fun!) And if you follow this blog, you also know that while I think reading anything with our children is valuable, reading high quality books makes it even more so.
Let's be honest. There are a lot of mediocre (and sometimes downright bad) children's books out there. We have all read them, right? Fortunately, there are a lot of gems out there, too -- and those are the books I am eager to share with you here. Books that draw us in, make us fall in love with their characters, teach us new things, and leave us wanting more. What we read is so influential in fostering a love of reading and learning. That is true for our kids and it is true for us as adults, too. But when it comes to children's books, I am also of the belief that how we read those books is equally important. Be loud and animated and excited. Change your voice, tone, and inflection. Give pause. Give characters different voices. Read with emotion, whatever it might be in the story. It makes the book more fun for our kids and infinitely more fun for us as the readers. Yes, reading any book to our children is valuable. But reading a great book in a great voice? Nothing beats that.
It is this very idea of how we read that makes The Book With No Pictures so brilliant. After all, when it comes to books, the person reading the book has to say whatever the words say. No matter what! "That's the deal. That's the rule. So that means... Even if the words say... BLORK!" or Bluurf! We have to say them. This story is silly and fun and destined to bring fits of laughter to any child that reads it. I guarantee it. Watch the video clip below to see what I mean!
Thank you, Mr. Novak, for providing us with such a fabulously fun book. My kids have been singing, "glug, glug, glug, my face is a bug... I eat ants for breakfast right off the ruuuuuuuuuuug!" all morning long.
