Nobody

by Liz Rosenberg, Julie Downing (Illustrator)

EVERYBODY'S GOING TO FALL IN LOVE WITH NOBODY, George's imaginary friend.

When they decide to fix breakfast together, Nobody suggests chocolate meat loaf, but they settle on pancakes, and cook up a storm . . . and a mess. Eventually order is restored, and pancakes are served. And Nobody eats more than anybody. Filled with clever wordplay that tells a story true to so many children’s experience, NOBODY will soon have many friends.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Family, Cooking

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Liz Rosenberg is an American poet, novelist, children's book author, and book reviewer. She is currently a professor of English at Binghamton University.

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main joke of this book is that George has an imaginary friend named Nobody. They wake up early and decide to cook.

But the book can't seem to decide if the joke is wordplay (George selected some of his favorite foods. He took out some things his mom and dad liked and some that Nobody wanted. Get it? Things that no one wanted? Than George sat and waited because he wasn't allowed to turn on the stove when Nobody was around.) or if we are actually supposed to take this imaginary friend as a person doing actual things. Nobody made ridiculous suggestions. Chocolate meatloaf! Peanut butter and turnip soup! Spaghetti and applesauce dumplings!

For some reason, when the mom wakes up and suggests they make pancakes together, the invisible friend gets depressed and shrinks down.

George thought about how it had been Nobody's idea to make breakfast in the first place. He remembered how Nobody had been there to greet him that morning.

He thought about how alone he might have felt if there had been no one instead of Nobody around. "Mom," George said. "Nobody helped me with this."

"Is that so?" said his mother, passing him a clean mixing bowl. George's father began washing up.

"Yes," said George. "And Nobody makes better pancakes than I do."

Nobody smiled a surprised sort of smile and started to grow a bit.

"Absolutely Nobody."

This doesn't make any fucking sense.

Then they all settled down to a delicious feast.

And Nobody ate more than George.

THE END

Ha ha ha? I mean, WTF? I really did not understand this book, it didn't seem to be able to decide if Nobody was an actual imaginary person or if the point of this book was wordplay and at the end I was a bit confused. Surely the boy (maybe 4 or 5) understood the jokes he was making by saying "Nobody helped me...." etc.?

Tl;dr - Confusing and has no point. Illustrations are pretty ugly.

[Tasha]

A charmer of a book about a boy and his imaginary friend, Nobody. This allows for plenty of wordplay in the book with Nobody telling the boy to do anything, Nobody helping him, and Nobody cleaning up. George woke up early in the morning and with Nobody’s advice decided to make a feast! So he and Nobody raid the refrigerator, mix all sorts of things together including eggs, chocolate syrup and dog biscuits. Not allowed the turn on the stove, the two friends had to wait. So they played cards. Nobody won. George then invented his own game which he won. When his parents woke up, they were surprised by the mess. As they took the matter in hand, Nobody began to shrink and disappear until George called him back to help make pancakes for breakfast.

I’ve always loved wordplay and we don’t see enough of it in books for preschoolers. Especially this kind of subtle playing where it can be ignored without losing the story, or enjoyed as another dimension of the book. Rosenberg’s text is great fun to read aloud. Children will love the concoction the two create together and will immediately understand that Nobody is imaginary. I also appreciate the parents’ reaction to the morning mess. They take it in stride and with humor.

Downing’s illustrations have a soft quality that works well in this early morning story filled with imagination. She uses sploshes and drips of paint to great effect as the kitchen becomes messier and messier. George is quite a small child in the illustrations, which will make it inviting to young children to join in the adventure.

Recommended, this is a great book to share when doing story times on cooking or messes. Nobody makes a mess quite like this one! Appropriate for ages 2-5.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

George and his imaginary friend, Nobody, play together until George's parents wake up. They make a feast in the kitchen and invent their own games. A sweet book about the power of imagination to keep us company when we are alone.

[Francine Tarque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, it's such a sweet mix of touching and funny. I'm not sure if Nobody is an imaginary friend or a sort of alter-ego to the main character George, but it seems perfect for my own only child. Love the bright red cover! The pictures and writing are fab.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great play on words, imaginary friend includes a nice child point of view

[Arnold Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story of a crazy breakfast feast. George wakes up alone--but not really since he has Nobody around to keep him company. The artwork goes perfectly with the story. A classic.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever premise.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book for kids about loneliness and how not to be lonely. Rosenberg's poetic language draws kids in and holds them tight. Kids will love it--and their parents will too.

[Greg Razern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! So does my only son!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story, appropriate for story time, about George, his imaginary friend and all their activity while waiting for the parents to wake up. The reaction of the parents is awesome!

[Gina Fiedel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet, playful book. Lovely pictures that perfectly match the lively prose.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too clever by half, wordplay on “nobody” gets as messy as the kitchen when a child mixes with his imaginary playmate; the well-drawn illustrations help to clarify matters.

[Jacob Burton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a traditional literature book, and it is a very interesting play on words. The main character, George, has an imaginary friend named 'Nobody.' If the reader takes a step back and thinks about it, it's quite funny because the story keeps saying that Nobody helped George, when in reality nobody does. This 2010 book was good, I was just expecting more to happen.

[MissInformation · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the first time this ploy is used: "Nobody" is a character that is the imaginary friend of George. Nobody does things that are mostly mischievous. Nobody earns a little credit in the end for being a friend though.

[Juliana Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who makes all the bad decisions in your house? Nobody that's who. But what happens when Nobody gets credit for helping out?

http://julianaleewriter.com/celebrate...

[Tara Benwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable story with beautiful illustrations. We fell in love with George and Nobody.

[Emylly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nobody read this book. Nobody liked this book. Nobody would probably not read it again. Is nobody real? Is nobody imaginary? Is nobody nobody? My brain hurt listening to this story. It’s a cute idea that a little kid would say “nobody made a mess” when it was in fact the kid himself but perhaps it was in fact his imaginary friend Nobody. And that flip flopping back and forth between real, imaginary, and word play is the entire book. I like that little boys named George would enjoy hearing their name read in a story. I question if Nobody else would enjoy it.

[Owen & Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The concept of this book is cute but it is executed poorly. The story is a bit awkward and the concept of Nobody isn't really explained.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be oddly charming.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

George and his imaginary friend Nobody get up one morning before George's mom and dad get up and decide to make pancakes and get into all sorts of mischief.

This is a cute picture book with plenty of wordplay. Such as Nobody helped me, Nobody cleaned up, and so on. This would be good for preschoolers and older, possibly a good storytime book if explained and paired with other books about using your imagination.

[Loren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this concept of "nobody" as a character for in our house we have a "somebody." I would have rated it higher but for the fact that the concept was confusing .... and my 4 1/2 was rather puzzled.

[Kena Kump · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about a Nobody brother ignored, and a his brother revered, who ends up helping Nobody become recognized. Great illustrations, I liked how they colored Nobody grey and his brother in red to show which one was more recognized.

[Anne Beier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pair with "Mudkin."

[Christi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great kids food book! And imaginary friend. Loved it

[Phuong]

little bear

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun to read once. Clever use of word.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet book, great story and great pictures.