Monday, September 28, 2009

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
Like it?  Find it

6 comments:

Jennifer said...

I did this book with my preschool storytimes a few weeks ago and it was a big hit. The kids loved sitting up perfectly straight to be trees, etc. although I don't think they quite got all the imagination elements. I'm looking forward to reading this to my 2nd grade visits!

Carrie said...

I thought this book was pretty cute also. I think I did a lot of the same things when I was young and "bored."

Gracie - you did a GREAT job illustrating the main characters.

Isaac - I like the expression on Frankie's face there!

Lily - LOL! on "Beware the Foot!"

ElizT said...

Nothingis the most capacious word ever. But if nothing is capacious, what about suitcases and shipping containers?

ElizT said...

Nothingis--new word; wot I ment wos NOTHING [nothing at all!]

Nina Crittenden said...

Look at those illustrations! Wow! (The book is great, of course, but look at those kids go!)

Monica said...

Another great review, kids! And, as always, we love the illustrations! I visit your blog often to find great book ideas for my children. This is another one that I am going to have to look into! Thanks!