I don’t know if you remember a book I reviewed last year called P is for Pterodactyl. It is an hilarious alphabet book. No Reading Allowed: the Worst read-aloud Book Ever is much in the same light. I WOULD NOT call this a read-aloud book at all! 🙂 Though it would be so much fun to try!
What I am Reviewing
No Reading Allowed: the WORST read-aloud book ever! Written by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter, it is hilariously illustrated by Bryce Gladfelter. Running at 48 pages, you’ll find clever word play on every page. I received an advanced reader’s copy from Raincoast Books for this review. (You’ll find my amazon affiliate links throughout this review). Published by sourcebooks explore, this picture book is geared to children 4-8, but honestly…I think anyone could enjoy this book. You’ll find that it’s a fun romp playing with words.
From the Cover:
You can’t believe everything you hear! A single word can have many different meanings. And sometimes two words that sound alike can be spelled completely differently. Ptolemy the pterodactyl is back to show us all how absurd and fun language can be when homophones, homonyms, and tricky punctuation are at play! No Reading Allowed allows children and their parents to laugh together while also learning something new.
The Details for No Reading Allowed
As you can see, the illustrations fit really well with the words and how cleverly words can be written to show different things EVEN THOUGH they sound exactly the same.
Many of the clever sentences are full page, but variety is provided with some pages having multiple sentences on them.
The font is large and easily held in front of a group for reading, but it’s seriously just a run read to do.
It would be fun to read a sentence to a group of children (without showing them the images first) and then have them draw out what they think the sentence said. Would that be hilarious to do? Seeing all those different interpretations? What a great way to introduce to children the variety of words we have within the English language?
Should you get No Reading Allowed?
if you want to read a fun book with some budding authors, or some younger children, go for it. If you are just looking for a quick and easy read that shows you different interpreations for the same sounds… YES.
No reading allowed: The WORST read-aloud book ever is a great read, an interesting approach to showing children the fun of the English language. Using humour to teach helps children see the fun there is in making a mistake with spelling when all they hear is a word spoken. It helps them to learn to use context to understand what is being said. A fantastic book, add it to your library today!
