Many of us know B. J. Novak from the hit mockumentary comedy show, The Office. He played Ryan the temp, a character that had quite a rise and fall over the course of the series. A year after The Office ended, Novak stretched his literary wings with The Book With No Pictures, a children’s book devoid of, as the title tells us, pictures. At first, I was skeptical. Then I read it. And read it again. And read it to my 13 and 10 year old sons. And to my 4 and 6 year old nephews. This book is gold. Any book that mentions a hippo named Boo Boo Butt will be a hit…with just about everybody. The book is genius…really. I actually found myself saying out loud, “Why hasn’t anyone done this before?” In a very direct and simple way, Mr. Novak has underscored the power and importance of words. He does this in an entirely creative and entertaining way. This is a book meant to be read to kids by adults and reminds us of the jurisdiction an author has over a reader. In fact, the book comes with a very clever warning on the back cover:

Why We Love It…

Each time I read the book, I found myself laughing out loud. My wife laughed out loud. My oldest son – now in the throes of teenage angst – his outer shell of indifference fell away and he laughed out loud. My young nephews couldn’t control themselves. Novak does this with words and words only. The magic here is that we walk away knowing that words are important and can impact us. In this case, the silliness is almost overwhelming, but in an entirely entertaining way. An adult reader can really play up the notion that they aren’t in control and must read every word as printed. Kids love this aspect of the book. Part of this is the sheer goofiness of Novak’s text, but more importantly, it puts kids in the driver’s seat. The book is their proxy. It acts on their behalf, making the reader say crazy things they never would ordinarily say. To a child, seeing an adult be silly, seemingly against their will, it priceless entertainment. And let’s face it, any book that mentions a hippo named Boo Boo Butt will be a hit…with just about everybody.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the book also requires the reader to sing – and not just sing, but to make up a tune to go with the words, “Glug, glug glug…my face is a bug…I eat ants for breakfast right off the ruuuuuuug!” Any book that gets people singing gets extra points from us. You should probably start working your melody now. The Book With No Pictures is a refreshing entry into the children’s book world. It hits all the right notes – it gets everyone laughing and cleverly displays the power of the written word, demonstrating to kids that words can take us places and make us experience emotions all by themselves. Now, this book certainly had help from some fantastic designers who chose spot on typefaces and colors for the words found within. These choices don’t simply entertain visually, but actually help the reader play the part of the “out of control” narrator. Statements meant to be blurted out are in large fonts and the tormented inner monologue are much smaller. This emboldens the reader to say these as asides, almost under the breath.

The Book With No Pictures delights all who come in contact with it – readers and audiences alike. It gets kids excited about reading and even gets the reader singing. B.J. Novak has hit a home run with his first children’s book and we can only hope there will be more.