Customer Reviews

No, David!

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I realized before I purchased this book it was for an older age group. My son is 2 1/2. However, after reading the reviews from others who have 2 year olds and raved about the book, I felt comfortable in ordering it. I, like all parents of toddlers, understand the trouble they get into and thought this book would be fun. When I first looked at it, I was a taken back by the pictures and thought David looked, quite frankly, demonic. I showed my son with a smile on my face and enthusiasm, but, he too also just stared at the pages with a blank stare not sure how to react. At the end of the book he told me "scary" and to put it away. That's exactly what I've done and will find an older child who will enjoy this book. As for our family, No David, gets a big thumbs down.

I spend a lot of time telling my two year old son "No!", so I bought this book to reassure him that I still love him anyway. Some of the reviews talked about crying, frightened children, and I thought those parents must have no sense of humor at all. Imagine my surprise when my son, who loves to be read to, *hated* the book. I guess the pictures of the pointy-toothed, gaping-mouthed child scared him, no matter how lighthearted I tried to make it. Now when I pull it off the shelf, he yells, "No, no, no!" and pushes it away. Maybe he's just too young for it, because personally, *I* loved the book. I told my husband, "But it won a Caldecott!" and he said, "Who was on the committee, Herman Munster?" I'd give it five stars for art quality and sentiment, but because my son can't stand it, I don't feel right giving it more than two.

My 3 year old son, David, received this book for Christmas last year, and was not only scared by the horrific pictures, but cried because he thought we were talking about him when we read it. The entire book is only about a bad little kid named David who is drawn with scary sharp teeth and a very big mouth. The last page of the book, showing that the mother still loves David after he's been bad, doesn't even start to make up for the rest of the book. I don't recommend this book for small children, as there is nothing funny about it.

I'm the teacher in a toddler room and this is by far their favourite book to hear. They love saying "no david" aloud and you can add on to the story by asking questions about what he's doing and telling them why it's wrong. The children constantly ask to hear it and always do a good job during circle time while it's being read, whereas during a lot of other stories they usually lose interest. By far my favourite book to read with them.

As the parent of two preschool boys, I certainly see the humor as intended by the author. Answer the door, answer the phone, or use the bathroom, and kids are bound to do something they shouldn't to grab attention! Didn't we all?

My kids love the book, and the best part is the hug at the end. However, my oldest child,(...) never picked his nose until we started reading this book, when he was [young]. (And obviously, not every kid will pick up on this.) My oldest child is a very visual learner, and I don't like the part about negative images (like nose-picking) being filed in my child's brain. So, this book was pulled from our repertoire until we resolved the whole nose picking issue.

When a child is old enough to grasp the concept of the humor and a conversation about making a better choice (like getting a kleenex), instead of imitating the funny pictures, it's a great book. I'm probably not going to read this to my youngest son until he is 4 or 5. That being said... this book is fun and funny, and kids love it!

All of our young children have days like David's. Some of our children have lives like David's. David does a series of typical toddler no-nos like writing on walls and trying to steal cookies. The text consists almost entirely of "No, David!" but the illustrations speak volumes. They appear crude, but for all of that they are strangely realistic. And they convey very well the awkwardness of toddlerhood. My 29-month-old has sensory integration disorder, and, prior to beginning OT, he could, in a single day, paint the furniture with the contents of his diaper, empty his bottle out onto the rug, get a hold of his older brother's crayons and mark up the couches, smack his brother in the face, throw food all over the floor, crush bananas all over his face, climb over a child safety gate and empty a cup of tepid coffee all over the carpet, and end up in time-out more than once. But my son sits in my lap to allow me to read No, David! to him -- will go find the book and give it to me to read to him --and points out all the details in the pictures with me. He finds this book hilarious. So we get to have quiet time together, and my little boy gets to read about a little boy who also has trouble behaving like Mommy wants him to. But does this book encourage misbehavior in toddlers? Does this subversive book give toddlers ideas about new ways to rebel against parents? Is this book visual proof of bad parenting? Such concerns presuppose that toddlers misbehave on purpose. In fact, the world is a frustrating place for toddlers, who crave and fear independence from mommy, and have the same wants we do without a lot of the physical competence we have, and who are only just learning impulse control. The illustrations portray the consequences of childish misbehavior in a way that toddlers can hear it, and the humor in the book is exactly the ultraviolet brand that parents of toddlers -- and their toddlers -- need. This book strengthened my relationship with my challenging child, and I can frequently invoke portions of the book when my child misbehaves and the resulting hilarity defuses a situation and redirects the behavior.

I am ordering this book to show staff and adult students, at my pre-schools, an inappropriate book for toddlers and pre-schoolers. If a child did not exhibit these behaviors before, they got plenty of good ideas! The title, content and back cover is negative reinforcement. The mother seems powerless and the child, terrified to be out of control. No effort, other than sleep, was made to illustrate remediation. The image of a child running naked down a road is particularly worrisome. This book was brought to my attention by a family whose child continues to exhibit all of David's behaviors.

We bought this book just after my son's third birthday. The book quickly made it into the "top ten" for bedtime reading. However, he also quickly started copying most of the "David" behaviors in the book. Long after the book was "lost", he would still scream "I want to run down the street naked!", and to this day (over a year later), he still jams his finger up his nose to the second joint. Hey, I've got an idea -- how about a humorous book about all the things you can do with matches, or maybe knives?

Not that you'd necessarily know it from this book, but David Shannon is perhaps one of the best children's author/illustrators out there today. Are you at all familiar with "Duck on the Bike"? You should be. How about the gorgeous "The Rough-Faced Girl"? Run and purchase it immediately. "No, David!" strays a little from these other books, not only in terms of picture quality but also in text and narrative. Though certainly an original idea and a fun creation on the whole, I'm afraid that this particular Shannon offering is a little less impressive than its picture book brethren.

David Shannon was sent a small book by his mother, prior to writing this story. A little book that he created as a boy, the only words that appeared in the text of the tale were the words, "No" and "David". The pictures showed David doing the very things he was not allowed to do. Using this idea as his springboard, Mr. Shannon has remade his little book into a wild raucous retelling. Here's David once again, doing all the things he shouldn't. His antics aren't particularly vile or disgusting. In one picture David has tracked mud into is living room. In another, we see the merry naked backside of the boy springing down the street. All this culminates with the moment David accidentally breaks his mother's vase and is relegated to the corner of the room. With big arms we see him run towards his mom, finally enveloped in a big ole hug with the final words, "Yes, David...I love you". Thereby reinforcing the idea that no matter how bad David gets, he's still loved at the end.

The illustrations for this tale are a kind of slightly modified version of the one's Mr. Shannon presumably drew as a young 'un. David has the triangle notes and closed off body parts usually found in children's pictures. Just the same, there's sophistication clearly apparent from page to page. The final shot of David being held by his mother gives the boy a sweet loving countenance (complete with the first appearance of his eyelashes). I've read some reviews of this book that complain that children might be scared by David's teeth. And honestly, they have a point. David has anywhere from six to nine sharp pointy objects in his mouth that become more or less pronounced as his activities grow more or less violent. Some children are not going to like 'em, while others will love pointy-tooth David and his antics. The best way to gauge a kid's reactions to this book would be to simply show them the cover. If they think it's swell or horrific, you'll know right away.

As for me, the book's not too terribly original. There are plenty of books drawn to look like their authors are four (both intentionally and not) and as for bad boys you need only locate Max from "Where the Wild Things Are". This isn't a bad book but nor it is particularly striking or memorable. Feel free to purchase it. Just understand its limitations beforehand.

I like this book becuse it is hilarious. I like it when
David gets in trouble. I like when David said, "Do you love me?"
His mom said, "I love you very much David. Don't let anyone tell
you I don't love you because if they do, you call me, but make
sure I'm home. Then call me at work if I'm not."