Not a Dud (Not a Box - Antoinette Portis)

Member Name: MagdaDH

Product:	Not a Box - Antoinette Portis
Date:	19/09/09 (8 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good concept book

Disadvantages: maybe a bit too conceptual

Not-A-Box looks - like a box. It's got brown cardboardy cover and is even imprinted with 'This Way Up' and a net weight. Inside, in a minimalist palette of black and red on white, red yellow and brown pages, there is a story of a minimalist-Miffy-like child bunny who, as many a human child, loved sitting in boxes, hiding in boxes and wearing boxes.

An exasperated mother, appearing only as a disembodied voice in the dialogue, keeps asking silly questions of the Why are you wearing a box? type, while the child maintains that, obviously, it's not a box. It's a space ship, a car, a burning tower block, a robot suit, a balloon, and a countless other things. In fact, it's simply a Not-A-Box.

Not-A-Box is a great little concept book for small children and their parents. It celebrates the power of imagination and ingenuity that allows children to use the most mundane of objects to create their own scenes and worlds and act out stories. It's also funny and a pleasure to handle and look at.

The book has a carefully thought out, minimalist design which will appeal to all parents that can't stand the sweet old-fashioned pictures nor the garish modern ones, but the use of thick line and bold, colours (with red delineating the imaginary and black the everyday) will make it attractive and easy to understand to children.

The text is simple and reflects the often limited verbal competences of small children: It's NOT NOT NOT a box!.

As often, I am not convinced about the necessity for an animal character replacing humans (why can't we have a generic child instead of a generic rabbit?) , but despite that it's well worth borrowing, and possibly even buying, especially if your child is more sensitive to the visual than verbal and in particular if they like sitting in boxes themselves!

Recommended for all preschoolers, although the older ones will be more able to grasp the concept.

Summary: recommended