No Such Things

by Bill Peet

Describes in rhyme a variety of fantastical creatures such as the blue-snouted Twumps, the pie-faced Pazeeks, and the fancy Fandangos.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Poetry, Animals, Humor, Kids

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 1983

About the author

Bill Peet was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer for Disney Studios. He joined Disney in 1937 and worked on The Jungle Book, Song of the South, Cinderella, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, Goliath II, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Fantasia, The Three Caballeros, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and other stories.

After successes developing short stories for Disney, Peet had his first book published, Hubert's Hair Raising Adventure.

Reviews

[Tom Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh! The book-reading children
are marvelous things.
They go without leaving,
they fly without wings.
While staying at home
they can travel afar.
From the surface of earth
they reach up, touch a star.

Braving dangerous places
from the comfort of home.
Meeting minds, trading spaces
They expand what they know.
And before too much longer
Imagination's wings buzz
and the things they dream up
become more than what was.

And they're thinking big thoughts now
And they're dealing in dreams.
And they're wondering, "Why? How?"
And they're cooking up schemes.
And they move to adulthood
a little less scared
a whole lot more curious
and just better prepared.

But the really big magic
is when book-reading kids
become book-reading parents
and it all starts again.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely fun and imaginative collection of creatures and I know I would have totally LOVED this as a kid!!! While Dr. Seuss is still my favorite for fun rhymes and wacky characters, Peet is a close second here. Definitely recommended!

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Peet, whose many colorful picture-book adventures for children include such titles as The Wump World , and How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head (my personal Peet favorite!), here delivers a series of poetic profiles of imaginary animals. From the pie-faced Pazeeks, who manage, when eating, to look very much like slices of cheery pie with legs, to the fancy Fandangos (as seen on the front cover), who satisfy their vanity by gazing at their reflection all day, the creatures covered in No Such Things entertain both visually and conceptually. I think my favorite was the Flubdud, a creature who never moves, because he is standing on himself!

Young readers who enjoy encyclopedias of creatures who never were - think Georgess McHargue's The Beasts of Never - but who are at an earlier reading level, might enjoy this imaginary outing. The artwork is bright - trademark Peet - and will keep their attention, while the rhyming text will make for a fun read-aloud. This isn't a storybook, so I'm not sure that it would be a good selection for a story-hour, but for one-to-one bedtime reading, it should be a hit.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I most appreciated about this book were the fantastic, colorful, creative illustrations, and Bill Peet's amazing imagination! I really enjoyed the creativity he had in coming up with all these creatures and how they adapted to their environment.

That said, there really isn't a story throughout the book, nor is there a clear intro or satisfying ending. The rhymes weren't perfect, but they were pretty good overall. Also, some of the characteristics of the creatures have to do with eating (so... for those who feel sympathy for the prey and are very sensitive, you may want to preview this).

This isn't a great "story" but I think it's something I would have enjoyed and laughed over when I was young.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

These creatures and the rhymes about them very strongly reminded me of Dr. Seuss and I thought they were clever and a great deal of fun. The illustrations are fantastic.

[Elevetha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the imaginative creatures Peet came up with here! From log-fish to toupee tail animals to narcissistic rainbow equines, this cute book is sure to fascinate and delight small readers.

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This feels very Dr. Seuss. This is not a story, each full page spread is about another fantastical creature to get the imagination whirring. This is pure Bill Peet and I would love to see this as a Disney short.

Imagination runs wild here and the artwork is amazing. I love Bill Peet's artwork. He comes up with some weird things.

Kids should love this wild display of weirdness and coolness.

[Badger's Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are a Bill Peet household. We have all of his books! This is a fun one because it doesn't have a plot. It's just a bunch of fantastical creatures so you can let your imagination run! I love the Easter eggs in there for big Bill Peet fans...only the die-hards will notice Prewitt the Peacock's tail.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish they would reprint this book. I'd love to have a brand new copy for my own collection. Bill Peet has the best imagination!

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever Bill Peet, clever! Fantastical, memorable creatures to inspire. Rhymes reminiscent of Dr Sues while Peet style through and through, language and illustrations.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still love this hard to find book.

[Maki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clever, lots of great imaginary animals.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is replete with unusual animals. The blue-snouted Twumps that eat weeds and their seeds. The seeds cause weeds to sprout on their backs. The baby Twumps graze on mother's back. The mother is both "fodder" and mother. The Glubzunks look like old sunken logs and feed on frogs. There are pie-faced Pazeeks who spear cherries with their pitchfork-like feet and fill their faces. Tizzies have tails with ferocious jaws and big red eyes. They are often frightened by them and run miles before realizing the monster behind them is only their tail. The Snoof lives where it snows and easily leaves tracks for hunters. Unfortunately for the hunters Snoof's feet point backwards causing the hunters to track the Snoof in the opposite direction it is really headed. The other animals are equally strange and rare.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a total fan of Bill Peet, but this is a lesser effort. No story, just fanciful creatures and bad poetry. Being a devoted fan, though, I found it interesting to see the "spooky-tailed Tizzy" that is an echo of Prewitt the Peacock (of The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock) and the Skeezaboos that are an echo of Buford (in Buford the Little Bighorn). I admit: you have to be a fan to pay attention to how Peet recycles certain characters. But that's me.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an odd book. It was almost like he was trying too hard to be like Dr. Seuss with his descriptions of crazy original creatures and their abilities. My favorites were the colorful narcissistic horses called Fandangoes and the Snoofs, mountain goats whose horns are so long they can use them for skis. Recommended for ages 4-7, 2 1/2 stars.

[Alexandria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is longer than most of the books I read the boys I babysit, but they loved it anyway. Both boys are huge skeptics and not much into making things up from their imagination. But by the end of this book they were both giggling and trying to come up with their own fantastical creatures. I will be buying them a copy for the holidays and buying one for myself as well!

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Seussian feel in the theme and rhymes. I can't help but notice that several of the characters illustrated are retreads of characters taken from Peet's other stories: Wumps, Prewitt the peacock, and Buford the Bighorn among them.

[The Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Bill Peet! I love his very creative creatures and his fun Dr. Suess-like rhymes. A great great book.

The illustrations are fantastic. I think my favorite creatures are the Flubduds because they look so forlorn.

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to see the "creatures" from other Peet books.

[Joyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is one of the few Peet books i didn't like

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminds you of the imaginary animals that Dr. Seuss created, with colorful renderings of these animals.

[Lana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tiny-headed birds!!!! Love it!

[Maren Prestegaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Peet is starting to be a fav.

[Wendy Kuzma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminds a lot of Dr. Seuss stories with its rhyming text and fantastical creatures.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhymed. Each spread a different pretend animal. Reminds me of dr. Suess.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book might be just perfect for our gloopy stories. It has a bunch of creatures that are made up and just pure nonsense. Just what we're looking for!

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think to compare this to Dr. Suess is a stretch. The best thing about this book was the illustrations.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute and in a style much like Dr Seuss including the couplet rhyming pattern and pictures. All around a fun kids read.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyndon loved.

[Sandra]

Now I want to find this for a reread, it was a favorite when I was little.