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No Bows! Reviews
Publishers Weekly
A feisty redhead asserts her sense of identity in this book of few words but strong feelings. Each right-hand page names and illustrates what the girl does not want while the following left-hand page shows her preference. For example, the opening illustration depicts the moon-faced, wide-eyed heroine with yellow bows in her coiffed hair, pouting ("no bows..."); on the next page, she hangs upside down, her hair plaited, smiling ("braids"). Newcomer Duke's text for unsatisfactory items appears in lower case, while the girl's choices seem to shout out in bold capital letters: "no pink... purple/ no puppy... lizard/ no piano... drums." Mattheson's (The Great Tulip Trade) paintings juxtapose the girl's rejections in small-scale, often framed images with full-bleed full-page paintings of her chosen alternatives. The approach serves to illuminate the child's perspective and her determined resistance to comply. Adults usually appear as arms and legs, either confining or chasing the heroine. However, the conclusion, in which the girl responds enthusiastically when her parents ask "Hugs?" asserts reassuringly that no matter how willful and exhausting the child may be, her parents cherish her independent spirit. Ages 2-6. (Mar.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal
PreS-K-This book follows an unnamed young girl as she expresses her dislikes on right-hand pages-"no soap-"-and her preferences on the turns-"BUBBLES." The text is uniformly terse: "no crayons...PAINTS," "no nap...STORY," etc. At the end, tucked into bed, the child asks, "Hugs?" and gets a "YES!" from her parents. The cartoonlike oil illustrations are playful and clearly express the protagonist's intermittent glee and frustration. Children will relate to her, but they may find the layout confusing.-Amelia Jenkins, Juneau Public Library, AK Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
From Booklist
PreS. "No bows" (braids instead), insists Duke's contrary, redheaded heroine, who goes on to declare "no pink" (purple instead), "no puppy" (a lizard), "no piano" (drums), and so forth as she goes through the day. In three-word phrases ("no sandbox" reads the text on the right-hand page; turn the page for the preference, "MUD"), children will learn the child's likes and dislikes. Of course, she never wants what's offered--until it comes to bedtime hugs and kisses; then she can't get enough. The simple text is accompanied by equally minimalist illustrations, which show the girl at center stage against colorful backgrounds, with one or two props or people. The pictures, created in oil on primed paper, have a shiny look, accentuated by large expanses of soft color that Duke has used to fill in the bold, often geometric shapes (the characters' heads are perfect circles). A gleeful romp that will delight children, though it may exasperate the grown-ups reading to them. Randall Enos
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