Nope

by Drew Sheneman

Joanna Cardenas at Viking has pre-empted two debut picture books by editorial cartoonist Drew Sheneman. Nope tells the nearly wordless story of a baby bird who isn’t so sure it's a good idea to leave the nest, and Don't Eat That! is about a misguided bear looking for a post-hibernation snack. Nope is scheduled for spring 2017; Paul Rodeen of Rodeen Literary Management brokered the deal for world rights.

Genres: Picture Books, Birds, Childrens, Animals, Humor, Storytime, Fiction

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 2017

About the author

Drew Sheneman is an author, illustrator and nationally syndicated cartoonist. He has been drawing professionally since 1998 after becoming staff editorial cartoonist of The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper. Drew has won The Charles Schulz award from Scripps Howard, The John Locher Award from The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and The Deadline Award from The Society of Professional Journalists. Nope! is his first picture book.

Reviews

[Laura Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny with awesome whimsical illustrations.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A baby bird balks at the prospect of his first flight in this amusing and ultimately heartwarming picture-book, which uses immensely expressive and engaging artwork to tell a story that is mostly wordless. Save for our reluctant flyer's repeated "nopes," squawked out each time he draws back from taking that plunge over the side of his nest, and a few sound words, there is no text here. It falls to the artwork to move the story along, chronicling his many fears, and his mother's simultaneous sympathy and tough love. In the end, she must shove him out of the nest to get him to take that first flight...

I chuckled aloud on more than one occasion as I read Nope!, so colorful and entertaining was Drew Sheneman's artwork. Wordless - or mostly wordless - stories are quite difficult to pull off, so I am all the more impressed that this is the artist's first book! Mama and baby bird's expressions are just priceless, communicating terror and recalcitrance on the one hand, and amused sympathy on the other. The conclusion of the tale, in which our little avian hero discovers the joys of flight, is all the more satisfying for the resistance he earlier displayed to the idea of leaving the nest. Reassuring and entertaining all at once, this is a picture-book I would recommend to any child who enjoys humorous stories, or tales of young children (I mean birds) getting past their fears.

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie’s Picks: NOPE! by Drew Sheneman, Viking, January 2017, 40p., ISBN: 978-1-101-99731-4

“There you stood, on the edge of your feather
Expecting to fly”
--Neil Young (1967)

“Speech balloons (also speech bubbles, dialogue balloons or word balloons) are a graphic convention used mostly in comic books, comics and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing the speech or thoughts of a given character in the comic. There is often a formal distinction between the balloon that indicates thoughts and the one that indicates words spoken aloud: the balloon that conveys subjective thoughts is often referred to as a thought bubble.”
--Wikipedia, “Speech balloon”

NOPE! is a nearly-wordless picture book story concerning a young bird’s anxieties around learning to fly. Despite watching its mama effortlessly soar through the sky, the young bird looks down from its nest high up in a tree and imagines all sorts of dangers below. The fearful youngster repeatedly tells the encouraging parent “NOPE!” until the day finally comes when the mama tenderly and lovingly embraces her offspring and then unceremoniously (and literally) boots the young one out of the nest.

Of course, there is a positive ending, with the young’un confidently sailing past new friends--squirrels, turtles, and butterflies--before returning to the nest and mama. This story of leaving the nest will undoubtedly be embraced by many parents who, along with their young children, are nervously anticipating the beginning of preschool or kindergarten.

One of the interesting aspects of NOPE! is the use of large thought bubbles that show the fearful young bird imagining, first a cat, then a trio of wolves, and then a river filled with alligators waiting hungrily, far down, below the safety of the nest. For each of these, the author uses a two-page spread that has the same visual perspective as an earlier spread in which the young bird is looking down toward the ground between the tree it’s in and the neighboring tree.

Teachers and librarians who share this book can help kids recognize the difference between what the young bird actually sees and what it imagines is out there. Therefore, NOPE! provides an opportunity for a discussion about reality versus fear and imagination, as well as the chance to teach young children how one reads cartoons and comics, including the convention of speech and thought balloons.

From the cover onward, Drew Sheneman’s digitally-painted illustrations caught my eye. Given the expressiveness of the mama and child, which really carries the story, it’s not surprising to learn that this first-time children’s author/illustrator is a seasoned cartoonist. His first foray into children’s lit is notable and I hope we'll see more of him in the future.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mostly wordless book is about a baby bird's fear of his first flight. His imagination goes into overdrive, but his mother encourage/coerces him to leave the nest. Opened up a very productive conversation with Jasper (4yo) about how we have to sometimes do things that scare us in order to grow and learn.

Illustrations are very fun!

[Stephanie (Reading is Better With Cupcakes) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute nearly wordless comic style story of a baby bird who doesn't want to leave the nest. Not much surprising, but done in the illustrator's unique style.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The birds in this hilarious wordless picture book have the most expressive faces!

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a humorous book about the brave step of taking flight for the first time. Mama bird thinks it is time for her Baby Bird to take off, but Baby Bird isn't so sure. The tree is up so very high and there could be cats or dogs or alligators...as imaginations run wild it seems like Baby Bird might never fly away. This book can serve as an analogy for so many of live's great moments of fear and bravery, but it also is a simple story about a bird leaving the nest. I was momentarily shocked when Mama Bird quite literally boots her beloved baby out of the nest, but in the end it is the push he needed. As a parent, I appreciated her great moment of bravery as she trusted her baby to take flight. Told through expressive digital paintings, young readers will greatly enjoy riding the wave of emotions from fear to ultimate triumph. A fun book for talking about emotions, bravery, and trying new things.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's time for a baby bird to leave the nest. But the nest is WAY up off the ground. Each time the baby looks down, he imagines what he sees and the answer is always "Nope!" But the mother takes drastic steps and, well, you will have to see!

[Margaux · Rating 2 out of 5]

nope.

[Tegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun book with beautiful illustrations. I loved it!

[R.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was laughing the whole way through this one!
Very few words but the art is so expressive and beautiful. The story is cute and funny.

[Faith Tydings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my new favorite book!! So cute. I read this five hours ago and I've already recommended this to half the staff that works at my branch. I love this book!!

[Vern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing illustrations. So adorable.

[Lynn Plourde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly wordless delight--will that bird take flight? Fun illustrations and storytelling. Pair with DUDE! by Reynolds & Santat, another mostly wordless book.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this picture book, a young bird is scared to fly, but his mother persists in getting him to take the necessary leap toward independence. We received a review copy of this in the mail, and because it is mostly wordless, I knew it would be a good one for Miss Muffet. She loves to tell her own stories based on illustrations and after we read it together the first time, I heard her retelling it to her sister throughout the next couple of days. One of Bo Peep's newest words is "bird" so she also enjoys this one and has even been known to echo her sister and me saying, "Nope nope nope."

Thanks to Penguin Random House for the review copy.

[Stephanie Croaning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby bird is scared to take his first flight, but Mama knows just what he needs to get going!

Picture book, fiction
by Drew Sheneman
Viking, 2017
5 out of 5 stars

This is a humorous book about facing your fears. Children will love the adorable, cartoon baby bird. Sheneman shows him very expressively showing his reluctance to leave the nest. His temper tantrums and "nopes" will get a lot of laughs.

I think the humor in this book would make it a good one to read aloud to young children and open a discussion about facing fears, or trying something new. The happy ending, where baby bird sees many beautiful, new things, will probably be familiar to children who were originally scared of trying something new and then ended up loving it. The humor is a good way to begin talking about asking a child to step out of their comfort zone.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy to narrate (almost) wordless picture book. A baby bird continues to tell its mother, "Nope!" whenever the little one peers over the edge of the nest down to the ground. The scenery below changes from a long drop to a clear grassy area, to including an angry looking cat, then 3 drooling wolves, and finally a pond full of chomping crocodiles! Mom gives some love and encouragement and then, "Boop!" send the baby bird on its first flight! Baby soars around the tree with increasing confidence and satisfaction.

[Colleen Dougherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not all picture books need to have a lot of words. This is a perfect example of such a book. In Drew Sheneman's beautifully illustrated debut picture book, each page allows the reader to ask questions to the children about what they see and what they think is happening. It's fun to see what kinds of answers they come up with and to imagine together! As a parent, I admit to a bit of melancholy knowing that one day it will be time for my own children to fly away on their own, but until then, I'll enjoy every moment including the time to read books like this. Nice job, Drew Sheneman!

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

A fantastically-told story in very few words. The pictures in this book are perfect. They put together an entire story by themselves. This is a humorous story that is simple, yet very entertaining. Great expressions and incorporation of text into the illustrations.

A fun book with wonderful illustrations.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars from me. I think many children would enjoy this book. I like the low number of words, and how fun those words are (nope being the most common). I have mixed feeling on the message though. That you should possibly push past your comfort zone and be willing to try new things is a good message. But mama bird literally pushing baby bird out to get him to fly didn't sit quite right with me.

Wouldn't be great for story time because of the low number of words.

[Isaac Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I got from this story is that this little bird was supposed to fly out of the next because she was old enough but every time she was about to fly out something scary was underneath. Well the first time it was to high but then there was a cat, or wolfs, alligators. I wouldn't say I didn't like it but you did have to think about what the author had to have been thinking when he drew the pictures. I would not be against putting this book in my classroom but would not be my first choice.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Drew Sheneman - where have you been? Welcome to children's literature. I loved this book. Somewhat wordless, yet the illustrations are so vibrantly detailed and expressive you feel the story. This picture book will also qualify as a graduation gift from High School. There is a big wide world out there. All you have to do is be open to it. I highly recommend this book.

[Jeff Corrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good example of how a story can be told with little to no words if executed well. This almost-wordless picture book tells the story of a skittish young bird who is afraid to take the initial leap and learn to fly, but whose mother is there to push them to learn new things and take new adventures. Thumbs up. ~The Librarian Uncle

[Carol V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for a smile today? Get this book, NOPE! by Drew Sheneman, and read it. It's basically a wordless picture book but the pictures vividly tell the story. The little one is ready to branch out, but he says, NOPE! He imagines all kinds of fears till finally mom nudges him on, and you can guess how that goes. You will chuckle at the final word. It isn't NOPE!

[Marcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess because of so many positive comments I expected more. I didn't have either an emotional reaction to the story, or a extreme love of the illustrations. I thought it was funny and may find an audience, but I like Jabari Jumps much better for reading to preschoolers to encourage trying something new or challenging.

[Frances Hotchkiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the bright colorful illustrations! Almost a wordless picture book the illustrations say it all! The fear of flying and being independent. But when we are finally forced to spread our wings and fly we find out it can be pretty nice! I think parents will relate to helping their children get ready to leave the "nest".

[Margaret Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/20/2017 ** I think children will get a huge kick out of this book - the birds are so expressive. Likewise, parents will empathize with Mama Bird, as she showers the chick with love, but then kicks it out of the nest - literally. I laughed out loud several times as I read this, and I look forward to sharing it with my elementary students.

Caldecott? Possible, but I'm leaning to no; it doesn't seem like the Sheneman pushes the edges to something new or explores deeper themes. Also, the illustrations were a bit too cartoonish/Disney for my taste.

Source: GoodReads Mock Caldecott 2018 discussion.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Berry loved this (nearly) wordless picture book about a frightened baby bird who is afraid to fly and his mother who lovingly shoves him out of the nest so he can learn anyway. The illustrations are great and the inclusion of the word nope is done in interesting ways that add to the visual enjoyment of the book. Super cute!

[Charles Frierman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice story about learning to fly and making out to be worse than it is. Pictures were really fun and draw you in, which it needs to since there are minimal words in this book.

favorite character: baby bird
favorite moment: when he goes crazy screaming nope to his mom over and over again.