From: Steven
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1999 13:47:56 PST

No David" would have been a funny and popular book if it had just been a series of illustrations showing this kid doing bad things. What makes it exceptional is that there's really a story, as each of David's actions leads to the next. You can tell his mom's getting significantly more exasperated with each turn of the page, even though you barely see her and her words are almost the same. I especially like the ending, when David gets the hug he needs even without doing anything good. There are plenty of fine books about how parents love their kids ("Guess How Much I Love You," "Mama Do You Love Me?," "I Love You the Purplest," etc.) but all those have
"good" kids and wonderful parents. This is a kid who, at least today, is not being good, and a parent who, let's face it, deserves no medals either. David never even looks lovable...he's got those sharp triangle teeth and mismatched nostrils...he'd be a little scary if he weren't so funny. But he still deserves that hug, just like Max deserved a still hot supper, and Shannon makes that come through in the illustrations without resorting to sentimentality. A distinguished accomplishment I think. I had a harder time with
"Tibet: Through the Red Box" and would love to hear what others thought of this unusual Caldecott Honor book.

-------------------------------------------------------Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library 1595 Burns Street West Linn, OR 97068 ph: 503e6x57 fax: 503e6'46 e-mail: steven at westlinn.lib.or.us
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Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library 1595 Burns Street West Linn, OR 97068 ph: 503e6x57 fax: 503e6'46 email: steven at westlinn.lib.or.us
Received on Tue 09 Feb 1999 03:47:56 PM CST