Knot Cannot

by Tiffany Stone, Mike Lowery (Illustrations)

A pun-packed look at friendship, jealousy, and being yourself

Knot is a piece of rope who longs to do the same things as Snake. Snake can slither and swim and hiss. Sadly, Knot cannot! But when Snake finds herself in a pickle, Knot discovers there's one thing he can do that Snake cannot. Knot can knot--a lot!

With wordplay a-plenty, this uproarious read-a-loud encourages readers to find--and celebrate!--whatever it is they do best.

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Childrens, Friendship, Fiction, Animals, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

Published April 7, 2020

About the author

Tiffany Stone was born in Quebec and named after one of James Bond’s girlfriends. When she was two, she travelled by train to British Columbia, where she has lived ever since.

Tiffany considers herself a word nerd and proudly admits that when she was young, she and her mum used to look up word origins in the dictionary for fun! Nowadays, she especially enjoys writing poems that rhyme and stories that incorporate plenty of puns.

Meeting a real-live author when she was in Grade 6 inspired Tiffany to pursue her dream of being a writer. And writing her own verse for Dennis Lee’s “Alligator Pie” as a school assignment made her fall in love with poetry. (Her verse was about alligator cake.)

After earning her BFA in Creative Writing at UBC, Tiffany tried out several backup careers, including music academy administrator, bakery prep person (too early!), and veterinary hospital receptionist. She even trained as a hairdresser.

But in 2004, Tiffany’s dream of being an author finally came true. Her published works now include three collections of humorous verse for kids and more than a dozen poems in children’s magazines, as well as poetry on a plaque at a beach and on Vancouver buses. She loves to perform her poems at schools and libraries and sometimes works as a freelance children’s book editor.

Tiffany lives in Whonnock, BC, with her family and many pets. She is constantly inspired by trees.

Reviews

[Darinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knot is jealous of Snake. Snake can do all kinds of things that Knot cannot. There is one thing that Knot can do though, and it helps Snake a lot.

A fun story with wordplay and colorful illustrations. A great read-aloud book. Cute and silly.

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knot Cannot by Tiffany Stone, illustrated by Mike Lowery. PICTURE BOOK. Dial (Penguin), 2020. $18. 9780735230804

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Knot spends all its time bemoaning that it cannot do all of the wonderful things that a snake can. When snake gets into trouble however, knot is there to save the day.

I am almost persuaded to love the personification of a knot. I do like knot, but not love it. Even better – had there been a guide to tying the knots shown in the book, that would have been smashing.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

Knot Cannot is a book about seemingly unsuited friends and a whole lot of wordplay. This is perfect for anyone learning English and all of its quirkiness! Silent "k"s, "g"s, and word cheesiness*, Knot's lack of a mouth, legs and similar skills as his friend Snake. Still the author was able to get a rollicking book out of this questionable set of characters and language play - with even a rescue by the underdog (?underknot?).

There was a lot of giggling by my crew. A truly clever little book. Scouters will find all the knot knowledge an additional bonus.

*"Can knot look brand-new? No, he's a frayed knot."

[Shaye Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this goofy picture book, knot is comparing himself to snake. Snake can slither, hiss, shed her skin, taste the air, etc. But knot cannot. However, what knot CAN do just might save snake’s life. With fun wordplay, this book will be a great intro to a discussion on what young children CAN do.

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!

[Czarina at captainz · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute! Snake and Knot together in one book, combines my interests in sailing and reptiles! Also good lesson for us to value what we CAN do.

[Mrs. Mazzola · Rating 3 out of 5]

The wordplay makes this a fun story to read aloud, with a nice message about focusing on what you can do as opposed to all the things you can"knot" do. The story is slight, but give to fans of books like "I Yam a Donkey" or where other punny, wordplay books circulate well.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly puns made for a fair bit of fun as knot compares itself with a snake.

[Abby Johnson]

This funny picture book is about all the things an anthropomorphic knot CAN'T do and a few things she can do. This book would be super fun for young pun-sters and kids who love funny wordplay.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knot would like to be like snake who can do a lot of things that Knot cannot. Snake can hiss, and slither, and taste his food before he swallows it whole. Knot cannot. When Snake finds himself in danger, there is something important that Knot CAN do! Fun illustrations.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny cartoons, silly wordplay, and gentle conflict make this a very punny (intended) book. Knot admires Snake, who can slither, hiss, and do many snakey things. Knot cannot, which is the repeating refrain on each page opening. Fun facts about snakes are subtly part of the hand lettered text, which consists of very short sentences with fun vocabulary and a good use of homophones. The cartoon art is really goofy and silly, depicting Knot as a piece of rope with huge eyes. As a bonus, several knots are depicted with their technical names.

[Jj · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, combined with great illustrations from the ever-wonderful Mike Lowery. I would put this one in a storytime or lesson plan about strengths and weakness in friendships, along with I'm Not. and the standby Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovable and memorable story about having different strengths from those you love and admire! I love the bold illustrations paired with an introduction to silent letters in words (knot, gnat) and rhyming (knot, cannot / ache, snake).

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was funny with some very funny word play! Knot admires his friend snake, who can do so many cool things that a "knot cannot." In the end, he discovers his own usefulness, though. Kind of a graphic novel style picture book. Very cute.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of puns. Plenty of humor and thinking moments as knot figures out how he can be like others (snake) and unique too.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dang these words are playing! I like books that play with language (like I Scream! Ice Cream! or CDB!) because language is weird and fun! I think if I were to read this aloud, it would have to be maybe 2nd or 3rd grade because of the silent letters. It's not like it's super important (especially as a read aloud), but I think the experience would be richer for slightly older kids who are starting to/have already powered through the confusion that is silent letters can appreciate it. Also first graders sort of "get" jokes, but, especially in the case of puns, they are just using context clues to figure out when you're supposed to laugh.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This hilarious picture book combines simple yet entertaining cartoon art with humorous text to create a winning selection. The colorful characters take center stage in large illustrations, with barely-there nature settings, or even just solidly colored backgrounds. Large-eyed Knot does move around, in spite of staying in knot-form, which foils his dreams to be versatile like Snake. The wordplay with “not” and “knot” and other words continues throughout the simple text. A great friendship tale for storytimes or one-on-one reading.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a lot of fun!
The blurb says it is "a pun-packed look at friendship, jealousy, and being yourself." That's pretty much it. Knot envies Snake who can do a lot that Knot cannot. But when danger lurks, it's Knot who saves the day. If this isn't enough to encourage you to purchase a copy, The language is mostly simple enough to add to your reader shelf. I love the different kinds of knots at the end of the book.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knot is not able to do most of what Snake can do and that is explored in many ways. Yet when there is danger, Knot manages to save Snake. Understanding individuality and strengths in a somewhat unconventional way somehow works.


Though somewhat bizarre for a theme of a book, but Lowry and Stone make it work!

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations on this book and it was both silly and fun. A great pick for fans of Snakes on a Train.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very weird little book where a knot and a snake become friends. Word play that reminds me of Cece Bells book You Loves Ewe. I think more than anything the strongest take aways from this book are the facts about snakes. The rest is silly.

[Andréa]

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

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relentless goofiness.

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had high hopes -- just not as punny or humorous as I'd expected.

[Yapha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun puns and word play!

[Sarah Southerland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable kids book with a pro-snake message. I loved it. Fun and encouraging.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silly story about a rope, with some good snake information snuck in.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snakes are in now? The adorable pictures and wordplay greatly help this out.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The word play is lot of fun, and written in a fashion where children will totally get the puns.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazingly clever story, about a knot, who wishes he could be a snake. Snakes slither, and hiss, but knot cannot. Still, there might be things that knot can do.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun picture book with a lot of play on words. a cute story with nice illustrations. Best for a one-on-one reading or with a small group.