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How the Nobble Was Finally Found
The Nobble lives in a world all his own—a fantastical world where you can do the impossible things of dreams. It’s a nice life and all he’s ever known. Yet one day he begins to think about finding some place he hasn’t been yet. Or maybe seeing something he hasn’t seen yet. Or . . . something. So he sets off on a journey to an unusual place, where he discovers roary things, fuzzy things, and tall, shiny, rectangular things. Then a door knocks. If only he knew what a door was . . . C. K. Williams and Stephen Gammell’s enchanting tale is about finding the courage to go out and search for what you want most in the world. And sometimes, that’s a friend.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published September 7, 2009
1 person is currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
C.K. Williams
70 books72 followersC.K. Williams was born and grew up in and around Newark, New Jersey. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in philosophy and English. He has published many books of poetry, including Repair, which was awarded the 2000 Pulitzer Prize, The Singing which won the National Book Award for 2003, and Flesh and Blood, the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Prize in 1987. He has also been awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the PEN Voelker Career Achievement Award in Poetry for 1998; a Guggeheim Fellowship, two NEA grants, the Berlin Prize of the American Academy in Berlin, a Lila Wallace Fellowship, the Los Angeles Book Prize, and an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
He published a memoir, Misgivings, in 2000, which was awarded the PEN Albrand Memoir Award, and translations of Sophocles’ Women of Trachis, Euripides’ Bacchae, and poems of Francis Ponge, Adam Zagajewski, as well as versions of the Japanese Haiku poet Issa.
His book of essays, Poetry and Consciousness, appeared in 1998. and his most recent, In Time, in 2012. He published a book about Walt Whitman, On Whitman, in 2010, and in 2012 a book of poems, Writers Writing Dying. A book of prose poems, All At Once, will be published in 2014.
He teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and was a chancellor of the American Academy of Poets.
He published a memoir, Misgivings, in 2000, which was awarded the PEN Albrand Memoir Award, and translations of Sophocles’ Women of Trachis, Euripides’ Bacchae, and poems of Francis Ponge, Adam Zagajewski, as well as versions of the Japanese Haiku poet Issa.
His book of essays, Poetry and Consciousness, appeared in 1998. and his most recent, In Time, in 2012. He published a book about Walt Whitman, On Whitman, in 2010, and in 2012 a book of poems, Writers Writing Dying. A book of prose poems, All At Once, will be published in 2014.
He teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and was a chancellor of the American Academy of Poets.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 10, 2011
This is a strange, strange book. I usually like books that have creatures totally new to the world but this one is just.... strange. Really strange.
I did enjoy the illustrations even though most of the pages were borderline creepy. But the story just didn't do it for me. Julia was into it which usually would make me rate the book better but she was only into it for the actual Nobble. Not the story. She like how he looked she said and she liked the ending. Besides that she didn't care for the story much either.
It's actually a shame for me because I do like the character also and I think had it come in another manner we'd have really enjoyed the entire thing.
I did enjoy the illustrations even though most of the pages were borderline creepy. But the story just didn't do it for me. Julia was into it which usually would make me rate the book better but she was only into it for the actual Nobble. Not the story. She like how he looked she said and she liked the ending. Besides that she didn't care for the story much either.
It's actually a shame for me because I do like the character also and I think had it come in another manner we'd have really enjoyed the entire thing.
September 3, 2009
Pretty illustrations
May 3, 2018
A Kafkaesque rendering of the Other and the Look with nightmarishly complex illustrations of bizarre or illogical scenes expressing the anxiety, alienation, and powerlessness of the freakish Nobble (an emblem of the poet’s existential angst) in its quest for facticity and authenticity in the surreal and nonsensical world of Generation Z.
December 7, 2018
It was a good, but strange story. The art style is definitely unique is that it is colorful in the way that it is presented. The book itself touches on larger topics of loneliness, doing things on your own, making new friends, and finding people that are like you. I would recommend this to some teachers educating about making friends and students who suffer from special cases of loneliness.
July 5, 2023
What a SILLY, but fun book. As always, I enjoy Stephen Gammell's illustrations.
March 28, 2010
This is a text-heavy picture book. The pictures are not particularly appealing to me, but still whimsical, of which I approve generally for children's books.
So, why four stars? This is a story about a creature that has never met ANYONE in four thousand years and he/she is shy and creative with his/her language choices. The two things that endear this book to me are its ambiguity about gender (which leads me to talk about gender with my six-year-old) and its playful use of language; these creatures learn how to say goodbye and hello - words they've never spoken before, having had no one to speak to. and it made my daughter laugh.
So, why four stars? This is a story about a creature that has never met ANYONE in four thousand years and he/she is shy and creative with his/her language choices. The two things that endear this book to me are its ambiguity about gender (which leads me to talk about gender with my six-year-old) and its playful use of language; these creatures learn how to say goodbye and hello - words they've never spoken before, having had no one to speak to. and it made my daughter laugh.
February 4, 2012
The nobble is a fairy tale creature that has been alone forever and all it wants to do is make friends. It travels to our world and hunts for others like him or people to love him. It's a cute idea and the writers have given their own new fairy tale, but the book is far too long for young readers and not very engaging.
January 4, 2012
Text heavy. A little too much text for my 4 year old, and even me. It was interesting though and sparks imagination. Illustrations are a bit different, but I don't mind. I like my kids to see different kinds of art.
June 17, 2010
The kid & I give this 5 stars. Great illustrations, sweet story.
November 3, 2010
J loved this book. We first read it last spring and i thought it would be too long for her, but the story really held her interest. She gives it 5 stars.
December 5, 2010
Delightful -- even if C. said he didn't choose the illustrator. I love how the letters nobble the nobble, and the archetypal tale adopts the tonal range Williams uses to create magic.
October 5, 2014
This is one of my favorite, incredibly written children's books. It flows like a rhymatic lullaby and is filled with whimsy and smiles from start to finish! It is a true delight!
July 25, 2011
Sweet book about finding a friend and being helpful to others.
August 29, 2012
Very cute images, story is pretty thin.
Enjoyable, but not great.
Enjoyable, but not great.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews