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{{infobox
|title=NO!
|author=David McPhail
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=An elegant look at bullying, whether by the local ne'er do well or the state. Virtually wordless but speaks volumes.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=48
|publisher=Frances Lincoln Children's Books
|date=August 2015
|isbn=978-1847807137
|website=http://davidmcphailillustrations.com/
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847807135</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1847807135</amazonus>
}}
A boy - we never learn his name - leaves home with a letter to post. If we look carefully we get a hint about who the letter is going to, but getting to the post box is not going to be easy, because the boy lives in a war zone. There are planes dropping bombs, tanks taking out buildings, soldiers carrying bayonets kicking down doors and a policeman with truncheon aloft and vicious dog at his side. The boy walks through it all as though completely unmoved, but when he reaches the postbox there's a bully lounging there and the first thing that he does is to knock the boy's hat off. Our hero has had enough - and we know just what he says...
There are few words in the book, but the pictures speak volumes. What is most moving is that the boy is ''unmoved'' by the horror that we see. It's the type that makes the headlines on the evening news, but the boy walks through it as though it was commonplace. For him it most probably is. David McPhail's illustrations are stark and straight to the point. The location looks so ''normal'' - a street in any town - but what's happening ''should'' never happen and it's the contrast between the two which hits home.
But things alter when the boy stands up to the bully and it's not just the bully who has a change of heart. The police dog licks the face of the old man he was terrorising just a few minutes ago, the soldiers bring presents and chat to the inhabitants of the houses and the planes drop aid rather than bombs. It's a lovely thought, if not entirely convincing but the message is sound: giving in to bullies - at whatever level - does not bring you peace and security. There's a delightful twist when we find out what the boy was writing in his letter.
The book is endorsed by Amnesty International.
''NO!'' is moving and thought provoking. It will take you just a few minutes to 'read' through it, but the message will - and should - stay in your mind for a lot longer. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
For more thought-provoking children's books have a look at our[[Top Ten Children's Books About Weighty Subjects]].
{{amazontext|amazon=1847807135}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=1847807135}}
{{commenthead}}
|title=NO!
|author=David McPhail
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=An elegant look at bullying, whether by the local ne'er do well or the state. Virtually wordless but speaks volumes.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=48
|publisher=Frances Lincoln Children's Books
|date=August 2015
|isbn=978-1847807137
|website=http://davidmcphailillustrations.com/
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847807135</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1847807135</amazonus>
}}
A boy - we never learn his name - leaves home with a letter to post. If we look carefully we get a hint about who the letter is going to, but getting to the post box is not going to be easy, because the boy lives in a war zone. There are planes dropping bombs, tanks taking out buildings, soldiers carrying bayonets kicking down doors and a policeman with truncheon aloft and vicious dog at his side. The boy walks through it all as though completely unmoved, but when he reaches the postbox there's a bully lounging there and the first thing that he does is to knock the boy's hat off. Our hero has had enough - and we know just what he says...
There are few words in the book, but the pictures speak volumes. What is most moving is that the boy is ''unmoved'' by the horror that we see. It's the type that makes the headlines on the evening news, but the boy walks through it as though it was commonplace. For him it most probably is. David McPhail's illustrations are stark and straight to the point. The location looks so ''normal'' - a street in any town - but what's happening ''should'' never happen and it's the contrast between the two which hits home.
But things alter when the boy stands up to the bully and it's not just the bully who has a change of heart. The police dog licks the face of the old man he was terrorising just a few minutes ago, the soldiers bring presents and chat to the inhabitants of the houses and the planes drop aid rather than bombs. It's a lovely thought, if not entirely convincing but the message is sound: giving in to bullies - at whatever level - does not bring you peace and security. There's a delightful twist when we find out what the boy was writing in his letter.
The book is endorsed by Amnesty International.
''NO!'' is moving and thought provoking. It will take you just a few minutes to 'read' through it, but the message will - and should - stay in your mind for a lot longer. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
For more thought-provoking children's books have a look at our[[Top Ten Children's Books About Weighty Subjects]].
{{amazontext|amazon=1847807135}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=1847807135}}
{{commenthead}}
