No!

This book has no words; just fantastically detailed images. The book starts with a little boy witnessing a variety of quite distressing events, planes with bombs attached flying over his town, tanks rampaging through the streets, businesses being shut down, soldiers breaking down doors... pictures that make you think, pictures that are a little distressing. As a teacher, these pictures are great for discussion - looking at inference skills, discussing how the boy feels, how the images make us feel, but I think that if you were to read this book by yourself as a child, or 1:1 as a parent to your child, these questions would be much harder to discuss. As the story moves on, the boy confronts a larger boy, simply by shouting 'No!'. The previous pictures are then revisited, but reimagined; the soldiers are breaking down doors to give gifts, the tank is pulling a plough for a farmer... images that make you think even more. The book almost restored a faith in humanity for me, the concept that one person saying 'no' could change so many things. The last image in this book is a letter written by the boy to a 'president', explaining that at his school they have rules. A fantastic way to get children to think about world events in relation to their own lives - and to consider the importance of some of the rules in place at school. The last page is a message from Amnesty International, who endorse the book, explaining what they do. This book is a great way to introduce human rights to children; where I work, our PSHE is focused around the UN rights of the child conventions, and I can think of so many ways that this book would prompt discussion that would enable children to see the importance of their rights. Although this is a picture book, it's definitely one for older children; 7/8 year olds could interact with this book with an adult, but older children would probably take more from it. I'd say this is a little bigger than your average anti bullying book - the context is greater and would be trickier for younger children to understand. Four stars for this, it has left a lasting impression on me as an adult - I can't wait to share it with some children and get their opinions. See also We Are All Born to be Free / Dreams of Freedom, both published by Frances Lincoln. Picture book / Ages 7+ / Reviewed by Lizi Coombs, teacher.

Suggested Reading Age 3+