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Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing. #1
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing.
Animals should definitely not wear clothing.
...because a snake would lose it, a billy goat would eat it for lunch, and it would always be wet on a walrus! This well-loved book by Judi and Ron Barrett shows the very youngest why animals' clothing is perfect...just as it is.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
31 people are currently reading
1223 people want to read
About the author
Judi Barrett
44 books115 followersJudi Barrett is the author of many well-loved books for children, including Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh, Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, and Things That Are Most in the World. She teaches art to kindergarten students at a school in her Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood. And she usually doesn't mind going to the dentist!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 258 reviews
October 5, 2019
greg brought this up to me last week, and i don't know how i have missed it all these years!! this book has a message i can stand behind.
initially, it goes into the ways that animals in clothing is impractical because of the nature of animals' bodies and the limitations of human clothing to stay on or enhance those animals, but then it ends with the most convincing point: animals in clothing is just plain embarrassing! to them and to us.poor animals, why do people try to steal your dignity by putting you in clothing that is unnecessary? why would a dog need little booties?? this is the equivalent of taking your average child and slapping it in a bubble - it is just going to weaken and soften your child like counter butter, and all the other kids/dogs are going to make fun of them. no booties, no bubbles. this is my presidential platform. it is not as good as:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5RlRg...
but it is what i am putting out there.just say no.
i am going to make my own television commercial, where i put those poor sarah mclachlan shelter and circus-animals in clothing and play some manipulative tune over it, and then you will all see!
here,try this - sing that song to yourself and look at these animals and pretend they are from some shelter where they have to wear these clothes all the time and at the end of it all, the keepers will put them down unless someone steps in to gently but firmly remove the clothing.
oh my god, are you laughing?? you are a monster.
come to my blog!
initially, it goes into the ways that animals in clothing is impractical because of the nature of animals' bodies and the limitations of human clothing to stay on or enhance those animals, but then it ends with the most convincing point: animals in clothing is just plain embarrassing! to them and to us.poor animals, why do people try to steal your dignity by putting you in clothing that is unnecessary? why would a dog need little booties?? this is the equivalent of taking your average child and slapping it in a bubble - it is just going to weaken and soften your child like counter butter, and all the other kids/dogs are going to make fun of them. no booties, no bubbles. this is my presidential platform. it is not as good as:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5RlRg...
but it is what i am putting out there.just say no.
i am going to make my own television commercial, where i put those poor sarah mclachlan shelter and circus-animals in clothing and play some manipulative tune over it, and then you will all see!
here,try this - sing that song to yourself and look at these animals and pretend they are from some shelter where they have to wear these clothes all the time and at the end of it all, the keepers will put them down unless someone steps in to gently but firmly remove the clothing.
oh my god, are you laughing?? you are a monster.
come to my blog!
October 24, 2015
This was one of my favorite books as a kid. The pictures cracked me up.
As a parent, I still enjoy it. But I don't know how much re-readability it has. If you're not in a position to run around buying a ton of books for your kids, you might want to grab it from the library rather than make it part of your permanent collection.
As a parent, I still enjoy it. But I don't know how much re-readability it has. If you're not in a position to run around buying a ton of books for your kids, you might want to grab it from the library rather than make it part of your permanent collection.
December 18, 2012
Some animals shouldn't wear clothing. Some animals, like my dad, only wear rubber boots and boxer shorts to get the mail in December. At least he's wearing something these days . . . he used to live by this book like it was the bible when we were kids.
My first impulse upon reading this book was to throw it into the failing septic tank in the back yard. Fuck any book that tries to tell me what to do, unless it is a book by Tony Robbins. He has hypnotizing teeth and tells you to tap into your inner strength. That's alright by me.
I suppose the reason I was initially so resistant to this book stems from my early experiences with the church. As a child, I was introduced to the ten commandments, and told to obey the rules. I never questioned these directives, until I was told shortly thereafter that it wouldn’t matter if I adhered to God’s rules anyway because Jesus was going to leave all un-baptized children to suffer on earth. The woman who told me this sighed as she talked about being carried away on a cloud with Jesus, completely oblivious to the fact that she had just traumatized several children . . .
Then the members of the church started scratching their armpits, peeling invisible bananas, and singing about how they didn’t evolve from monkeys. No, I'm not joking.
Speaking of monkeys, did you know that they can wear clothes without any negative repercussions? It must be true, because Judi Barrett’s book is a comprehensive manifesto that will change your opinion about which animals cannot and should not wear clothing. Since there’s no mention of monkeys in the book, you can safely assume that they not only can be dressed up, but damned well should.
See, that shit’s hilarious!
What I really like about this book is that it tells you why the animals inside shouldn’t be dressed up. There’s none of that “don't murder and steal because I said so” bullshit here. Barrett has thought this shit through, and her hard work is apparent on every other page. Why shouldn’t a porcupine dress up? It should be obvious, but in case it isn’t, there’s a picture to illustrate why this isn’t a good idea.
Why shouldn’t a pig wear clothes? For the same reason I lounge around in my boxers all weekend to avoid staining my shirts: because it’s a fucking pig, and therefore eats like a pig and smells like a pig as well.
Some of the justifications aren’t that convincing, however. A giraffe shouldn’t wear clothes because it might look silly? Really? Have you ever visited www.peopleofwalmart.com?
By Barrett’s logic, half of the American population shouldn’t be wearing clothing, and it wouldn’t be the half you’d want to see without clothing.
But, as you know, kids aren’t concerned with logic. They want to have fun while they’re reading a book, and if you can sneak in some educational bent while they’re laughing, then you’ve succeeded.
That’s another reason I like this book.
March 23, 2017
So frigging cute, I loved all the animals! Can't believe I'd never heard of this timeless classic.
June 9, 2018
Judi Barrett's books always tickle the funny bone, and this one definitely fits the bill. My grandson is a real animal lover, and he enjoyed the situations each animal got into trying to wear clothing. Recommended for readers in late first early second.
March 31, 2011
Years ago I cut up a tattered copy of this picture book and mounted it to 12x12 squares of cardstock. Animals wearing clothes is a silly concept and as such worked well with the story time "silly circus" theme. One of the animals pictured is a giraffe wearing seven neckties, which served as a "tie-in" to this week's craft in which we made funny clown ties using cardstock, stickers, and ribbon.
The craft was inspired by a photograph in an old issue of Sesame Street Magazine. A boy is pictured wearing an over-sized tie cut from lime green cardstock and decorated with large sequin dots. A cord is taped to the back of the tie so the tie can be worn.
We pre-cut the ties from cardstock and set the tables with tape dispensers, rolls of 1/8th inch ribbon, child-safe scissors, markers, crayons, and stickers. Stickers included left-overs from previous years summer reading, dots, and stars.
Coincidentally, I found a necktie rubber stamp to use in the story time greeting routine. Each week each child gets his or her hand stamped with a picture relating to the story time theme. They look forward to this and late-comers are sure to ask for the stamp during craft time.
The craft was inspired by a photograph in an old issue of Sesame Street Magazine. A boy is pictured wearing an over-sized tie cut from lime green cardstock and decorated with large sequin dots. A cord is taped to the back of the tie so the tie can be worn.
We pre-cut the ties from cardstock and set the tables with tape dispensers, rolls of 1/8th inch ribbon, child-safe scissors, markers, crayons, and stickers. Stickers included left-overs from previous years summer reading, dots, and stars.
Coincidentally, I found a necktie rubber stamp to use in the story time greeting routine. Each week each child gets his or her hand stamped with a picture relating to the story time theme. They look forward to this and late-comers are sure to ask for the stamp during craft time.
May 21, 2009
This book presents a witty look at what it would be like if animals attempted to wear human clothes. The illustrations and ideas are understandable to young children but humorous enough to entertain older ones. Each page pictures a different animal in an article of clothing that manifestly does not work (one of the funniest is the hen wearing pants, with an egg caught inside). The sense of absurdity in this book will delight and cultivate a wonderful kind of humor.
October 16, 2015
Very cute,very funny and very witty. This a masterpiece. I could not help laughing. Highly recommended.
December 28, 2025
The visual humor of each animal wearing clothes makes this picture book written by a husband and wife absolutely adorable. Unsurprisingly, the illustrator, also had his comic strips in the National Lampoon and his wife was a children’s art teacher. Oh my goodness, and now I see they also created Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, one of my all-time favorite picture books!
January 24, 2018
This is a fantastic book that I somehow missed as a kid that now I can't wait to share with the kids in my life. Hilarious!
September 7, 2020
Obvi read this as a child and / or my mom read it to me as a child because I am a Jew born in the early eighties and grew up in Ann Arbor, but also I read this to people who came to my zoom havdalah last night because we were talking about what the talmud said about animals wearing clothing. Still love all the illustrations. I love this style because it takes me completely out of time and puts me back to that blessed childhood era.
Also, I love my mom.
Also, I love my mom.
Read
August 20, 2025My dad read me this book, and I thought it was very silly. The animals looked very funny in the clothes
November 29, 2018
i agrey animals should not were close i think its reley funny and i like it
February 28, 2011
Judi Barrett's story is a plot-less story that describes why different animals should not wear clothing. The illustrations, done by Ron Barrett, have an enhancing relationship with the text. The humor of the story is amplified through the illustrations. The illustrations show the animal that corresponds to the accompanying text, on a full-white background. Some animals are done in color, while others are not; however all the clothes are colorful. The illustrator uses crosshatching to show texture and shadowing. The text is very bold and large and consumes one entire page, for every two-page spread. Green, red, orange and white are the most dominating colors of the images and backgrounds. Although the story doesn't really tell a story it is still very entertaining. Without the illustrations, some of the text would be very dry and boring and meaningless. Overall, a very appropriate story for young readers and easy to use as a read-along because of the large text.
May 2, 2009
This was one of my personal favorites growing up. This book would be great for beginning readers because the text is simple and it’s informative as well; it demonstrates unique characteristics of animals. The book guides the reader through hilarious explanations why animals shouldn’t wear clothes. My favorite is, “it might be very embarrassing for an elephant. The picture shows an elephant wearing a floral dress and hat while staring at a woman wearing an identical outfit. It’s a cute and fun read!
July 5, 2011
This is a funny story. It is a great book for kids to read because it is entertaining and it also introduces rhyming and other early literacy skills to children. This book is good to read when you are spending one on one time with a student, quality time with your own child(ren), and reading to your class.
July 3, 2012
A good mentor text for persuasive writing with younger students, and a highly entertaining book. I read it to my 3 1/2 month old nephew. I think his foot kicking was a sign of approval.
August 11, 2016
Short, simple, hysterically funny.
July 7, 2019
https://kingdomofwordsblog.wordpress....
« Il ne faut pas habiller les animaux » est un album très drôle proposant des situations cocasses expliquant pourquoi cela ne serait vraiment pas une bonne idée de faire porter des vêtements aux animaux. En passant par la girafe, le morse, le porc-épic et bien d’autres animaux, ce petit livre tout simple saura certainement amuser les enfants mais aussi les plus grands!
Je me souviens que cet album était l’un de mes préférés étant petite et que chaque que je le voyais à la bibliothèque je ne pouvais m’empêcher de l’emprunter même si je l’avais lu des dizaines de fois. Je l’ai redécouvert il y a peu et j’ai toujours plaisir à me plonger dedans. Les illustrations sont très bien réalisées, sympathiques et vraiment drôle même si la palette de couleur utilisée est assez simple. L’autre avantage est la taille du texte qui est en gros caractère ce qui peut être une bonne idée pour les très jeunes lecteurs qui commencent tout juste à lire ou pour les enfants n’aimant pas les textes trop longs et trop compliqués. En plus de cela il a l’avantage d’être indémodable. Bien qu’écrit il y a quarante ans, les choses n’ont pas changées et cela serait toujours une aussi mauvaise idée d’habiller les animaux… et surtout un vrai casse-tête!
« Il ne faut pas habiller les animaux » est un album très drôle proposant des situations cocasses expliquant pourquoi cela ne serait vraiment pas une bonne idée de faire porter des vêtements aux animaux. En passant par la girafe, le morse, le porc-épic et bien d’autres animaux, ce petit livre tout simple saura certainement amuser les enfants mais aussi les plus grands!
Je me souviens que cet album était l’un de mes préférés étant petite et que chaque que je le voyais à la bibliothèque je ne pouvais m’empêcher de l’emprunter même si je l’avais lu des dizaines de fois. Je l’ai redécouvert il y a peu et j’ai toujours plaisir à me plonger dedans. Les illustrations sont très bien réalisées, sympathiques et vraiment drôle même si la palette de couleur utilisée est assez simple. L’autre avantage est la taille du texte qui est en gros caractère ce qui peut être une bonne idée pour les très jeunes lecteurs qui commencent tout juste à lire ou pour les enfants n’aimant pas les textes trop longs et trop compliqués. En plus de cela il a l’avantage d’être indémodable. Bien qu’écrit il y a quarante ans, les choses n’ont pas changées et cela serait toujours une aussi mauvaise idée d’habiller les animaux… et surtout un vrai casse-tête!
September 25, 2018
"Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing" by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett was a book merely listing why animals should not wear clothing. My initial impact of the book was that it was short and simple yet very enjoyable to read. The styles of the book were one page had an illustration and the other had a caption, there were no page bleeds which kept the style continuous and plain. There also were no borders which I believe fit the storyline as it was not necessary to have a border here. There was not a setting as the pages that contained the illustration had a plain white back ground. The pages that contained the captions were either white, green, red, or orange. This book was funny because it would have a description for each animal why they would not wear clothing and there would be an illustration to match. This book would be very interesting and enjoyable to younger readers because they would find the illustrations hilarious as it is all animals with clothing on them. I enjoyed reading this book as I believe others will too. Rate: 4/5.
January 25, 2023
Fun book exploring the reasons why animals shouldn't wear clothes although technically at the same time not also arguing about animals not wearing clothes.
The book itself is a long run-on sentence with the title being the starting sentence before then providing an animal and a situation in which it is dressed up. The author then explains how that animal may be perceived if you were to see that animal within that very same outfit.
The illustrations are wonderful although also quite simple. The animals are all realistic but portrayed in several tricky dilemmas faced by clothes wearers such as suspenders, pajamas with latch bottoms, winter wear and so much more. If you don't hear or give a giggle at least a few times then you are most definitely not paying attention to this book.
A must-read for children and maybe even a starter activity in which you convince young readers to come up with their own silly situations as well as reasons.
The book itself is a long run-on sentence with the title being the starting sentence before then providing an animal and a situation in which it is dressed up. The author then explains how that animal may be perceived if you were to see that animal within that very same outfit.
The illustrations are wonderful although also quite simple. The animals are all realistic but portrayed in several tricky dilemmas faced by clothes wearers such as suspenders, pajamas with latch bottoms, winter wear and so much more. If you don't hear or give a giggle at least a few times then you are most definitely not paying attention to this book.
A must-read for children and maybe even a starter activity in which you convince young readers to come up with their own silly situations as well as reasons.
November 4, 2018
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing gives reasons why animals should not wear clothes, ranging from camels wearing them in the wrong places to a giraffe looking silly. It ends by noting that the most important reason is that it is embarrassing and shows a picture of an elephant and a woman wearing the same dress
This book is a picture book, and specifically, a picture storybook. It uses illustrations and words to tell the story.
This book contains a lot of rich vocabulary and contains a number of high frequency words. These words could be used for teaching about both concepts.
The book has an AR level of 2.0. I would use it for grades 1 and 2. One particular project that I would do with this book would be for the students to write their own reason why they think animals should not wear clothes and illustrate it. High frequency words could also be incorporated into the assignment.
Reference
AR Book Finder. (2017). Renaissance. Retrieved from http://www.arbookfind.com/default.aspx.
References
This book is a picture book, and specifically, a picture storybook. It uses illustrations and words to tell the story.
This book contains a lot of rich vocabulary and contains a number of high frequency words. These words could be used for teaching about both concepts.
The book has an AR level of 2.0. I would use it for grades 1 and 2. One particular project that I would do with this book would be for the students to write their own reason why they think animals should not wear clothes and illustrate it. High frequency words could also be incorporated into the assignment.
Reference
AR Book Finder. (2017). Renaissance. Retrieved from http://www.arbookfind.com/default.aspx.
References
December 23, 2020
Writer Judi Barrett and illustrator husband Ron explore the various reasons animals shouldn't wear clothes, despite the fact that it's perfectly cool in imaginary fiction. Obviously porcupines can't wear shirts: they're sharp dressers as is (lol). Camels don't need coats cos the humps are way too big...for even a bra! (Oops! My bad!) Although you actually can have your puppy wear a sweater, so long as he or she don't chew it into threads. And a clotheshorse is so NOT A HORSE IN CLOTHES, DUH! But it is a fun book for kids. Wear THAT!
Three stars
Animals in clothes RULE...but only in fiction!
Three stars
Animals in clothes RULE...but only in fiction!
April 27, 2023
The illustrations alone will be a hit in any classroom. This books features funny reasons why animals should not wear clothing. The large bold text and colored pages are great for read aloud. The reasons are practical but paired with the pictures assure that this book will spark a laugh or two. This would be a great introduction book for students to think about other animals that couldn't wear clothes.
January 21, 2018
Summary: Why animals should not wear clothing.
Why I Read This: It was on one of my "best of" lists.
Review: I can't put my finger on why, but I really disliked this book. It might simply be because it's very dependent on the illustrations, and I just didn't like the illustrations. It wasn't objectionable, but I never want to see it again unless I'm weeding it from the collection.
Why I Read This: It was on one of my "best of" lists.
Review: I can't put my finger on why, but I really disliked this book. It might simply be because it's very dependent on the illustrations, and I just didn't like the illustrations. It wasn't objectionable, but I never want to see it again unless I'm weeding it from the collection.
October 26, 2018
Why didn't I realize sooner that I wanted an illustrative look at why animals shouldn't wear clothing?! This book is a wonderful concept and creates giggles for all. I'll definitely read it again.
For: readers wanting some nonsense.
Possible red flags: some readers may not enjoy the nonsense factor.
For: readers wanting some nonsense.
Possible red flags: some readers may not enjoy the nonsense factor.
October 16, 2019
I absolutely loved this book because of how it thinks like me. I had these random thoughts throughout the day as a kid. Like what would a porcupine do if it wore clothes? How would that affect his everyday life? Would the quills go through and could they still shoot them? I enjoyed the illustrations as well since they are similar to what I would think up along with those thoughts.
March 23, 2021
I really enjoyed this book and thought that the pictures were funny, especially the one where the elephant and lady were wearing the same outfit. As a kid, I thought that it was funny why people had to wear clothes and why animals didn’t have to wear clothes, but now it all makes sense. Overall, I think that this book will be loved by children and they will find it entertaining.
May 7, 2021
Animals should definitely not wear clothing because... If you've ever wanted to see an illustration of a sheep wearing a sweater, a hen wearing pants, or a giraffe wearing neckties, this is the book that's done it! It's a fun, silly book that kids will enjoy. As an extra literacy component, you can have readers further explain what is happening in the illustrations that is wrong or silly.
September 30, 2021
This has been a favorite of mine since I was little, and I got very excited to find it on a secondhand shelf one day and remember all the fun. The picture of the chicken will now haunt my children forever as it once bothered me. Haha. This is a great book for getting kids to think about far-fetched circumstances and "what ifs." And the illustrations are simply delightful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 258 reviews