Review #45: Let's Do Nothing

Gracie (age 9):  This book is called "Let's Do Nothing!"  And I'm doing nothing right now.
Dad:  No you're not -- you're reviewing the book.  And it is written by Tony Fucile.
Gracie:  Fucile!  Chili, chili, chili!
Lily (age 6):  Hot Chili!
Dad:  Now, I happen to know about Tony Fucile.
Gracie:  Does he like hot sauce?
Dad:  Because of my love for animation, I know that he works on movies.  For example, he worked on "The Incredibles."
Kids:  (GASP!)
Dad:  He does lots of Pixar movies now.  And before that he animated Mufasa in The Lion King.  And I'm going to guess he worked on Iron Giant -- doesn't the Sal character in this book look like the kid from Iron Giant?
Gracie:  Probably the best words to describe this book are "Creative" and "Imaginative."
Lily:  It's about imaginations and mistakes.
Isaac (age 11):  People should read this book because it's cool.  It's funny.  It's crazy.
Dad:  So what was this book about?  What happened?
Lily:  "Nothing" happened.
Dad:  People might think that sounds boring...
Lily:  Wrong.  Wrong
Isaac:  Wrong.
Gracie:  Wrong.
Isaac:  The story is about these two boys, Sal and Frankie, and they've done everything.
Gracie:  They don't know what to do now, so they decide to do nothing.  But Frankie doesn't know how to do nothing.  So Sal says, "Okay, pretend we're statues."
Lily:  But Frankie couldn't be a statue because this imaginary stuff went into his mind.  In Frankie's imagination, he though he really was a statue, and he's getting covered in pigeons.  And he shooed them away.
Gracie:  I would scream.
Dad:  So he's not very good at doing nothing, is he.
Gracie: After that, they pretend that they are trees.  But then Frankie is like, "Aggh, your dog just went to the bathroom on me!"
Lily:  In his mind.  Because of his imagination.
Isaac:  Frankie kept having problems because all these pigeons and dogs were peeing and landing on him.
Dad:  For the review, let's think of a different word than "peeing."
Gracie:  Urinating.
Isaac:  Going to the bathroom.
Gracie:  Urinating.
Lily:  Potty.
Gracie:  The dog was urinating on him.
Dad:  Wonderful.
Gracie:  "Your dog just piddled on me."
Dad:  Lovely...  Moving on...
Gracie:  Then Sal is like, "Okay now you are the Empire State Building."  But then King Kong comes and takes Frankie's glasses.
Lily:  Frankie always has trouble.
Gracie: (making up dialog for King Kong carrying a lady)  King Kong was like, "I've never found glasses big enough for me before.  I've been needing these.  Thank-you Mr. State Building.  Now I can see.  OH, sorry lady, I thought you were a banana!"
Isaac:  So at the end, Sal made Frankie the king of nothing.  But then they realized you can't do nothing.
Gracie:  "There's no way to do nothing!  This is big!  This is big!  This is bigger than big!"
Lily:  We're gonna go play hockey!
Dad:  So if you say, "What'cha doing?" and someone answers, "Aw, nothing" ...is it true?
Isaac:  That's just an expression.  Even if you are holding your breath and your eyes are glued open, your heart is still beating.
Gracie:  Even if Frankie hadn't made all those mistakes, they would have still been doing "something" -- imagining!
Dad:  Can you think of anything that would have helped Frankie hold still?
Isaac:  He should have pretended to be just a skyscraper - not the Empire State Building - because that's the only one King Kong climbs.
Gracie:  I've got one.  Sal says, "You are a stick.  You are a stick lying on the ground.  And you have not moved for seventy thousand days."  But then Frankie would imagine it, and a beaver would come along and snap him into pieces.
Isaac:  I know, I know!  Sal could pour cement on him.
Dad:  Wow - extreme measures.  What did you think about the pictures?
Isaac:  They are cartoony.
Lily:  They have big heads.
Isaac:  They have lots of expressions.  The illustrator is good with expressions.
Gracie:  It's awesome!  It's SO funny!  It's funny because of the character's personalities.
Dad:  They do have really individual personalities.
Gracie:  Yes, they do.  Very unique personalities.  If those kids were real people, I would beg them and beg them if I could be their friend until they said yes.
Dad:  Anything you would say to Tony Fucile?
Gracie:  What is your favorite kind of chili?  Do you like spicy or mild.
Dad:  Silly girl.
Gracie:  I expect you to put that in the review!
Lily:  Yeah, put it in the review!

Sal and Frankie, by Gracie

Frankie as the King of Nothing, by Isaac

Sal and Frankie imagine they are rocks, by Lily

Author/Illustrator: Tony Fucile
Published, 2009: Candlewick Press
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