I recently learned of this book for children that has no pictures, titled The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak. I watched the video linked at the end and instantly went to Amazon to buy it. Here is the book cover:

It’s pretty plain, huh? Well, so is the rest of the book. Until you start reading.

It came in the mail yesterday and I wanted to put DJ down for a nap so I suggested we take it up to his room and read it. I told him the name of the book and he immediately flipped through the pages until he got to the back and declared, “That’s a picture!”

I read the book to him and he listened silently. After seeing the video, I had kind of expected laughter or giggles. But then they are older than DJ so maybe he’s not getting it? When I finished the book, he said “Again!” So I read it again. After a third reading, he begged for it again but I pressed for him to nap instead. (He has a fall cold right now so I wanted him to rest.

When his dad came home, I told him about the book and suggested DJ would like to hear it again for his bedtime reading. (Dad always does bedtime here.)

When the time came, I was really tired so I went to bed early. I laid in my bed, listening to my husband reading the book and seeming to enjoy it. At the end, DJ demanded to hear it again. By the third or fourth reading, DJ was giggling wildly. I lost count after 5 or 6 readings, but my husband says he read it a full 7 times before insisting it was time for bed.

The next morning, I woke up to hear DJ in his room. He usually wakes before me and plays while waiting for me to get up. This morning I hear him … “reading” this book to his stuffed animals! He even did the Robot Monkey voice and and the part at the end that says “Don’t make me read this book again, it’s SO silly.” His memory is incredible!

Anyway, I am so thrilled with this book. Not only is it enjoyable, it actually teaches children how books work and that the written text might actually say something they would like.

So here is the link to the video that introduced me to the book. I highly recommend watching it: The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak