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