No! I Won't Go to School

by Alonso Núñez, Bruna Assis Brasil (Illustrator), Dave Morrison (Translator)

Alonso Núnez’s playful story, Dave Morrison’s rollicking Spanish-to-English translation, and Bruna Assis Brasil’s imaginative illustrations offer a doomsday vision of a child’s first day of school that any young reader will recognize.

Zombies, monsters, and dragons stalk this book’s pages. Cries of despair echo through them. Prisons and dungeons lie in wait. Is this a nightmare? Is it an apocalypse? Well, yes—because it’s the day before our narrator’s first day of school, and all entreaties to his mother are falling on deaf ears. Why should he go to school when he already knows two letters, “N” and “O,” and he knows they spell NO!, which is exactly the word this occasion demands? Why aren’t these magic letters working anymore?  

 

Lexile Level 490; F&P Level L

Genres: Picture Books, School, Poetry, Childrens

33 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 10, 2018

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why go to school when you already know the two most important letters, N and O? A fun exploration of a child's imagination run wild when forced to go to school. The rhyming text and oh so relatable story are sure to please youngsters entering the hallowed halls of academia for the very first time.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't say that I ever dreaded going to school as a child since I loved learning and socializing so much. It was only once I began to teach and manage my own classroom that I had moments in which I wasn't so eager to go to school. Still, many youngsters will relate to the narrator's feelings as he simply states his refusal to go to school for the first time. In the past, it seems that his uttering the word, "No!' has resulted in not having to do something. But this time, it doesn't work, and his mother insists that he must go. His wild imaginings make his fears even worse, and even riding on the school bus is scary. As it turns out, things go pretty well, and he makes it through the first day successfully, partly because he learned some letters, some numbers, and made a few friends. The rhyming text makes the story move quickly, and the colorful illustrations highlight many of the fears youngsters have about the first day of school in vivid, imaginative fashion. I have to say if I'd imagined that school was as terrifying as this, I met never have gone. Obviously, this book has uses for erasing some of the fears budding scholars may have about this important new experience.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the first day of school and one little boy already knows two letters - N and O and they spell NO. No, he will not go to school. Even though his mom says he will like it, our young man knows that he won't, that the teacher will be a monster, that school is a prison, and the principal is mean. But wait, after he gets there, he notices that there are lots more letters on the board besides the N and O, and school isn't a dungeon after all. In fact, at the end of the day, our young man has made six new friends and learned more letters, numbers, and two new Spanish words, and maybe, just maybe, he tells his mother, he will even go back again tomorrow. Told in verse, much of it rhyming with the word NO, Mexican-born author Núñez has adeptly created an imaginative look at that big unknown - the first day of school and the fears it can generate in some kids before the big day. And if Núñez has successfully captured first day jitters in his text, artist Brasil has matched them with her stylized mixed-media illustrations that include cleverly embedded photographic elements. This is a playful look at school that never minimizes first day fears or condescends to its young readers.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny book for the first day of school.

A young boy tells his mother multiple times that he does not want to go to school. When he arrives home after the first day, he realizes it's not as bad as he expected and that he will go back.

Núñez's poetic text, smoothly translated from Spanish by Dave Morrison, is a rollicking, imaginative ride. The digital art by Bruna Assis Brasil includes photos, resulting in a whacked out, yet realistic world. Details enhance the humor.

A solid choice to read for the first day of school to break the ice.

Additional for grades 1-4.

[Briana Lewellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was super cute because the boy did not want to go to school, and there was no way he was going to enjoy it, and in the end he ended up loving school and everything about it. A great book to read on the first day of school for those students who do not want to go, and to teach them to give everything a chance, as you might like it.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

copyright: 2018
genre: poetry
theme: school
My favorite part of this book is how relatable it is, sometimes you just simply do not want to go to school.
I would use this book as a fun read aloud, I think kids would get a good laugh out of it.

[Alejandra RL · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un cuento sobre las negativas infantiles a ir a la escuela, dónde se muestran los miedos e imaginaciones sobre este lugar.

También nos muestran el lado positivo y como se cambia la perspectiva una vez que se conoce algo nuevo.

Me pareció entretenido sin más, pero quizá le guste más a los niños.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

The meter was off on some pages, which messed with the rhythm and was distracting.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good imagination

[Natasha Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantó, muy bueno y gracioso.

[Samantta S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

La poesía en la infancia es un deleite lingüístico y emocional.♥️ Y más con temas tan cercanos como no querer ir a la escuela.☺️

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young boy knows two letters--and seems to believe that those two letters are all that he will ever need to know! They are "N" and "O". He knows they spell, "NO!" and that is how he feels about going to school! He is sure that the bus is a big yellow monster, and those twins, are they zombies? No, no, no! He doesn't want to go to school! Fortunately, his mother does not listen; and when he returns home at the end of the day he has made wonderful new friends and learned some wonderful new things, without a single thing going wrong or scaring him!

Bright greens, oranges, reds, and yellows complement each other and the story with slightly sickly frightening hues. The illustrations are delightful with a suitably simple but off appearance that tells the reader that this is no ordinary boy. And he isn't. He has a wonderfully sick imagination that leads the reader through several off-beat ideas to get out of the first day of school. The rhyming of the story is particularly well done. Nothing feels stretched to follow the story line and flows smoothly throughout. A great little book for all ages, but especially appropriate for those with first day jitters.

More reviews are available at http://byucbmr.com/

[Ivory · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about trying things before you judge them. I liked the progress the main character made little by little. A good read aloud book for the first day of school.
Copyright: 2018

[Luz Morán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lindas rimas acompañadas de bellísima ilustración.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little remedial, a little poetry. A lot of people can relate to this . . . work and school. Sometimes we just don't feel like going.