Noni Says No: Children’s Picture Book Review

Sometimes we get the cutest books here. I love that part of my job. Noni is a sweet little girl, who is also a bit of a doormat. She can do all kinds of cool things like reciting the alphabet backwards, but Noni cannot say No! She has a friend who totally takes advantage of her and can’t stop herself. When Noni wants to tell her No, please don’t sleep over at my house tonight; instead she says, Yes. If Noni wishes to play a different game, she can’t assert herself. Instead she plays the dog and is directed through the motions of playing a game she’d rather not. And Noni’s friend Susie just keeps pushing the limits of friendship. One day she even cuts all of Noni’s hair and Noni still can’t say No. So how long will Noni be untrue to herself? How will she react? What will she do? Will an adult have to step in or will she solve the problem herself? Read the picture book yourself to find out.

Noni Says No, is by Heather Hartt-Sussman, a Montrealer, who also was a reporter for Hollywood Reporter and host of E! Entertainment television’s The Gossip Show. She is author of Nana’s Getting Married and she lives in Toronto. The book is illustrated by Genevieve Cote. Cote  is illustrater of several books. Hartt-Sussman has also written Here Comes Hortense and Nana’s Getting Married. Those two are illustrated by Georgia Graham. Cote’s drawings here are simple and cute, with hints of quirky thrown in. Graham’s are magical.

Noni Says No is nominated for an Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award.The awards bring recently published children’s picture books to Ontario children ages four to seven. The program promotes reading for enjoyment and beginning reader’s skills. Committees of public and school library practitioners select ten nominees each year. Students must read a minimum of five of those books to be able to vote. Voting is open for the month of April. The official voting day is Monday, April 23rd. to coincide with World Book and Copyright Day. Nonie Says No also was the recipient of an honourable mention in the OLA’s Best Bets List 2011.

Noni Says No, by Heather Hartt-Sussman, Tundra Books, $19.99, pub 2011, in Toronto, Ontario,

Her site is Http://www.heatherhartt.com/

This one gets a $$$$ out of $$$$$.

Use it to open conversation about feelings and to chat about how Noni might have handled things differently, or how she finds her voice. What a great tool for talking with your children. Perfect for age three and up to about 9.