We have been having a ton of fun with my most recent book discovery. When I say “we,” I am referring to my music therapy clients, my children, and myself. The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak is hilarious.
The text consists of the reader essentially having a conversation with himself. Silly, irresistibly funny words like “blork” and “boo boo butt” are followed by comments such as “I didn’t want to say that” and the reader asking if he really has to keep reading.
The way that the text is presented with a variety of fonts, sizes, and positioning on the page provokes the reader to use exaggerated inflection and a variety of voices.
And in the middle, a surprise song! With rhyming text, of course. I like to just make up a melody on the spot—sometimes it comes out jazzy, sometimes a bit opera-ish, whatever the mood of the day!
When your kids are ready to be the reader, the text provides some great opportunities for sounding out nonsense words. This is one of those books, though, that the kids tend to just want to hear the adult read—just so they can hear an adult say “boo boo butt!”