Do Not Open This Book
Kindergarten-Grade 4-After admonishing youngsters for ignoring the volume's title, a peevish pig explains that the book is not yet written, indicating a blank page and a hodgepodge of words printed on rectangle banners. Using numerous exclamation points, the author repeatedly-and rudely-tells everyone to get lost so that he can get to work. Eventually realizing that the spectators won't budge, the pig demands silence, climbs a ladder, and carefully glues and nails words to the wall, forming the beginning of a story. Unfortunately, the next page-turn blows the words around and when they settle down, they now describe a ferocious mouse that appears on the scene. And so it goes, until the exasperated porker pens an insulting tale about a giant pest, telling readers to say their names whenever there's a blank in the narrative. Then the pig declares the book completed, heads to bed, and dreams about literary accolades. The loose-lined, messy-looking cartoons in glossy, bold colors suit the text's truculent tone. Comical details include boxes of words (labeled verbs, animals, etc.) and a spider and fly that assist and poke fun at their friend. Although the story is a bit monotone and the humor stretches thin, this offering might make a lighthearted starting point for discussions of creativity and the writing process.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library JournalCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.