No, David! (Hardcover)

by David Shannon (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Parents will be quick to jump to the conclusion that there can be nothing appealing in a tale of an ugly kid who breaks things. And certainly--from that adult perspective--there's something off-putting about the illustrations of David, with his potato head, feral eyes, and a maniacal grin that exposes ferociously pointed teeth. But 3- and 4-year-olds see things differently, and will find his relentless badness both funny and liberating. "No, David," wails the off-stage mother, as David reaches for the cookie jar. "No! No! No!" as he makes a swamp out of the bathroom. "Come back here, David!" as he runs naked down the street. Each vivid double-page illustration is devoted to a different youthful indiscretion and a different vain parental plea. Readers will be amused to know that the protagonist's name is no accident: award-winning writer-illustrator David Shannon wrote the book after discovering a similar effort that he had made, again with himself at the center of each drawing, at the age of 5. (Ages 3 to 6) --Richard Farr

From Publishers Weekly
In this boisterous exploration of naughtiness, Shannon (How Georgie Radbourne Saved Baseball) lobs one visual zinger after another as David, a little dickens, careens from one unruly deed to the next?coloring on the walls, tracking mud all over the carpet, jumping on the bed in red cowboy boots. Meanwhile, all those timeless childhood phrases echo in the background: "Come back here!" "Be quiet!" "Not in the house, David!" and most vigorously?"No!" Shannon's pen whisks over the double-page spreads in a flurry of energy, as he gains perspective on an image of a bare-bottomed David cavorting down a quiet suburban street or closes in on the boy's face as he inserts a finger into his triangle nose, his button eyes tense with concentration, and perfectly round head looming larger than the pages. While Shannon gives David the purposeful look of a child's crude drawings, his background settings (the kitchen sideboard, a toy-littered TV room) are fully rendered, effectively evoking the boy's sense of displacement. This dead-on take on childhood shenanigans ends on a high note, with the penitent David (he broke a vase with a baseball) enfolded in his mother's arms as she assures him, "Yes, David, I love you." Readers won't be able to resist taking a walk on the wild side with this little rascal, and may only secretly acknowledge how much of him they recognize in themselves. Ages 2-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Blue Sky Press; 1st edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590930028
• ISBN-13: 978-0590930024
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (155 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,143 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( S ) > Shannon, David
  #2 in	Books > Children's Books > Issues > Social Skills
  #2 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Situations > Manners > Fiction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've been "forced" to read this book over and over again!, November 4, 1999

By	J. Moore "SurroundedByBooks" (Prescott, AZ, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a volunteer reader to three classes of second graders. This book was read and (by popular demand) re-read to each class - over two months ago. Since that time, I have shared many, many excellent books with them. Not a week passes that they do not ask for this book - sometimes in the middle of another story! Before I leave the classroom, they often ask,"When are you going to read us 'No,David' again?" and then proceed to retell their favorite parts of the story. They absolutely LOVE this book and are fascinated with the wonderful drawings of David and his world. They definitely identify with David and the childhood travails of living with Mommy's NO! Ah, but the wonderful ending that has nothing to do with that awful word....

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Core Curriculum for Preschoolers, February 6, 2001

By	Deborah D Gossell (Vacaville, Ca USA) - See all my reviews

I found No, David! three years ago while teaching a special education class for preschoolers with Austism. I was certain that I would receive a response from reading this book to them, as how many times are they told "NO"! Being a speech language pathologist I did expand on the dialog, saying what David was doing wrong. The students would paraphase the dialog with the same intonation or melodic intonation (scolding) I had used. We even wrote books about No, David!, doing inappropriate acts in our class room. It's amazing how well this book worked as a "social story". Many bad habits were reduced. Best of all, when I read "Come here, David" my students would come up to get a hug. This was the most verbally requested book from my students with Autism. At reading free choice, they would look at the pictures and preread using the dialog. I currently run a preschool special education preschool program for children with speech, language, and learning delays and start off the Fall reading No, David to decrease bad social behaviors. My students 3.0 to 5.0 love this book. I also give this book as a baby present.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for beginning readers!, December 8, 1999

By A Customer

I was amused by this book, and its companion, David Goes To School, when I saw them in the bookstore. I didn't realize just what a smart purchase they would turn out to be. These books have caught the interest of even the most reluctant readers in my first grade class. They have memorized the text and all want to read it to the "little kids." It has them working on all the skills they need to transfer to other texts--pointing to each word as they say it, using beginning sounds, etc. The words are ones that they have experienced personally, and the pictures are just gross enough to appeal to any not-so-happy-to-be-in-school first grade boy!