Customer Reviews

Nonsense! He Yelled

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, I am confused. Do the "professional" reviewers not have kids? My daughter loved this book. We read it often (no offense to the author, I can't read any book every night and stay sane). She loves the rhymes and then we of course start a silly game where we have to make up a rhyme with her or her friends names. This is truely my only complaint. Have you ever tried to rhyme Jessica or Jacqueline!? Anyway, this book is a great vehicle for immagination. My daughters kindergarden class all made up rhymes for their names because of it. I really think the reviewers are out of touch with what kids like. Of course, how many times have you seen a movie that you and everyone you know loved, but the critics hated. Anyway, trust the kids, the book is great!

This clever and charming book gets two thumbs up from my husband and me. Having written and illustrated childrens' books ourselves, we're always checking out new releases. We found "Nonsense, He Yelled" to be original, whimsical and a lot of fun --and that's no nonsense!

"Nonsense! He Yelled" is a unique rhyming book for young readers that, on the surface, follows in the lasting tradition of Dr. Seuss, "Go, Dog, Go!," "Put Me In the Zoo" and the Berenstain Bears. In fact, the artwork and text layout echo the "Golden era" of those classics, the early 60's, with a stylish "retro" look. A modern touch of this newcomer, however, is that instead of the typical animal or fantasy characters found in the mentioned old-timers, "Nonsense! He Yelled" spotlights human children, which is surprisingly often an attention-grabber with today's kids (ours anyway). The other contemporary aspect of this alphabet jaunt is a freewheeling silliness that will win over your little readers. We found this book to be a pleasing blend of yesterday and today.

Those professional book reviewers missed the point. They looked at Nonsense! as the wise adults that they are. But through the eyes of a child, all the silliness makes perfect sense! Best of all, it helps teach them the alphabet better than any book I've ever seen.

As a Uncle and Godfather to 6 kids, I've read a lot of children's books over and over and over again. Some are just plain deadly. You begin to fear storybook time. "Nonsense! He Yelled." is a pleasent antidote to those type of books. My godkids loved it, and I still found it enjoyable after multiple readings.
"Nonsense!" is a clever journey through the alphabet, where kids begin by meeting Art and Bob, then 24 more kids up to and including Yat and Zerk (I was kind of expecting X to be Xena, Warrior Princess, but it turned out to be Xerk, "who gets paid to lurk"). Each character has their own amusing story and rhyme and are creatively illustrated by Adrian Johnson. The book encourages interactive participation by asking the reader to use their own name in rhyme, a great little activity that adds to the enjoyment of the book (though can delay bedtime as everyone in the family HAS to have their names rhymed, according to my niece!).
The text is funny and non-violent, and even though 25 of the 26 characters introduced were male (Only Nell cracked the otherwise all boy alphabet) my niece enjoyed it just as much as my nephew.
This is a safe, enjoyable addition to the kid's bookshelf that helps kids become more familiar with the alphabet, socializes them to the idea that there are a great many different kinds of kids in the world, gives them a bit of a creative challenge and is painless for adults, who can be expected to be asked to read it over and over and over and...

This picture book is full of senseless fun. Escabacher taps into the joys of being a wild and verbally restless kid filled with energy and meaningless chatter. With little delay, he turns those words into a winner for all ages. He uses the names of twenty-six kids of every age who together reveal the excitement of writing a poem based on their name. There's Kyle who meets a crocodile; Moss who doesn't know what to do with a ton of applesauce; Uz scooping up fuzz and Ty the human fly. Most of all there is Xerk who gets paid to lurk, he loves to sneak and do detective work. To complement the silly poetic text is Johnson's silly outrageous illustrations. Cartoon characters fill the pages making sure you see their simple silly faces. Some eyes closed some opened some with and without noses. The colors used might not entice younger ages, but silliness outweighs the color schemes. For ages 3 -7.

I liked this book, I liked it alot, and that's not just because my name is Scott. The characters are so real, cool and clever, I had to share this book with my friend Trevor. You see Trevor is my hip friend who's in the know, of course he has to be to hang with me and our pal, Joe. If you must know the truth, my real name is Andrew, but it's hard to work in a rhyme that's as hoppy as a tan brew. My three little girls have enjoyed this book, so much so that Daddy's no more a schnook.

What a children's book should be - entertaining, fun to read aloud, great rhythm, clever, and awesome illustrations. I look forward to the next collaboration of Roger Eschbacher and Adrian Johnson.

Nonsense! He Yelled is a wonderful book on several levels. The one thing it is not, though, is a story; although there are a couple of minor threads woven through it. But that's just fine. A story is not needed.

What you get instead are short, fun rhymes that provide a stealth mnemonic device to help children learn the alphabet. It's a rather painless lesson for kids, and very entertaining. The rhymes hint Seussian but stay within the English language (no floogle floops here). Each character (one per letter for a total of 26) is unique and has a little something to say.

This arrangement gives parents the opportunity to act out each character in a different way. There's nothing kids like better than to see their parents act goofy, and this book offers that chance. After several readings the kids start to play along.

Given the rhyming text, the artwork could have gone the Dr. Seuss route, but didn't. Instead, the artist embodied the figures with modern animated sensibilities, providing images that could easily be part of a Cartoon Network original series like Johnny Bravo or Ed, Edd 'n Eddy. Not that the artwork is particularly reminiscent of either style, but it carries the same sharp attitude and sense of fun that the animated shows have. It's very modern and appeals to kids who, through exposure, understand that style.

The bottom is this book is just plain good silly fun. It's something kids will enjoy and parents will enjoy reading.

My six-year-old son and I loved reading this book together. With two older sisters in the house, he thought it was great to find a book about (mostly) boys! We enjoyed the ABC format and he enjoyed trying to guess which name would come next. This is a fun, easy-to-read book for both parents and children. The text and the illustrations are guaranteed to give you a chuckle.

A cleverly written and artfully illustrated tome for wee ones between the ages of 4 & 8 - especially boys. Nonsense verse attracts like a magnet and my grandchildren fell right in line and loved every bit of the humor and absurdity of it all.
Three year old Matthew, chuckling at the silliness of Kyle, Lyle and the crocodile, was prompted to volunteer several creative lines of his own!

Roger Eschbacher and Adrian Johnson certainly have a winner here. We hope there's a sequel!

Del McLaughlin
San Diego County