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No Bows!
We all have likes and dislikes. Some of us are just more vocal about it than others.
Using only a few simple, but well-chosen words, a small child expresses clearly what she does―and does not―want through the course of a day. Her independent spirit emerges as she firmly says no to a dress, a pair of shoes, a nap. As the day ends and evening descends, however, she finally says yes…to lots of hugs and kisses from her mom and dad.
Shirley Smith Duke celebrates the delightful contrariness of young children in this upbeat book featuring a likable little girl determined to get her own way.
Using only a few simple, but well-chosen words, a small child expresses clearly what she does―and does not―want through the course of a day. Her independent spirit emerges as she firmly says no to a dress, a pair of shoes, a nap. As the day ends and evening descends, however, she finally says yes…to lots of hugs and kisses from her mom and dad.
Shirley Smith Duke celebrates the delightful contrariness of young children in this upbeat book featuring a likable little girl determined to get her own way.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2006
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 24, 2023
This book provides a detailed tribute to the "Terrible Two's." Sometimes the toddler's reaction is YES, but often it's NO.
This is the first picture book I've seen devoted to this wildly popular topic; popular in the sense of being inevitable, as a toddler learns how to be separate from Mommy and to have personal preferences.
Because this picture book expresses this particular phase fo todder-ism so beautifully, with nothing added or subtracted, I'm awarding it FIVE STARS and also HIGHEST PRAISE.
This is the first picture book I've seen devoted to this wildly popular topic; popular in the sense of being inevitable, as a toddler learns how to be separate from Mommy and to have personal preferences.
Because this picture book expresses this particular phase fo todder-ism so beautifully, with nothing added or subtracted, I'm awarding it FIVE STARS and also HIGHEST PRAISE.
July 24, 2017
Quick read because there isn't much text/content. Younger readers will enjoy the concept, but older readers will probably get bored quickly.
January 20, 2021
No Bows is a great book. A really great book. And I'm not just saying that. Occasionally I come across a picture book hero or heroine that is me. There's just an instant click, a connection. I see myself in that character, in that book. Such is the case with No Bows.
In just a few words, our young heroine is fully-fleshed, fully developed. And she's fun. She's just a delight.
Here's a sample of the text:
no bows...
BRAIDS
no pink...
PURPLE
no puppy...
LIZARD
You get the idea. She's an individual. She's content, happy, delighted to be just who she is. And her parents love her just as she is.
The book is so simple, so inviting, that it just is begging to be an interactive "read." It's predictable in that even if one can't technically read the words on his/her own, the pictures are there to help out, give a clue as to what word comes next.
Anyway, I love the text. I love the concept. I love the illustrations. (So bright. So happy. So right.) If I had read this as a child, there is not a doubt in my mind that it would have been an again-again book. A book that I would have insisted time and time and time and time again be read aloud.
In just a few words, our young heroine is fully-fleshed, fully developed. And she's fun. She's just a delight.
Here's a sample of the text:
no bows...
BRAIDS
no pink...
PURPLE
no puppy...
LIZARD
You get the idea. She's an individual. She's content, happy, delighted to be just who she is. And her parents love her just as she is.
The book is so simple, so inviting, that it just is begging to be an interactive "read." It's predictable in that even if one can't technically read the words on his/her own, the pictures are there to help out, give a clue as to what word comes next.
Anyway, I love the text. I love the concept. I love the illustrations. (So bright. So happy. So right.) If I had read this as a child, there is not a doubt in my mind that it would have been an again-again book. A book that I would have insisted time and time and time and time again be read aloud.
December 9, 2007
Smith obviously interviewed my daughter for this book on a little girl with big opinions, who even has her same fondness for purple. Though I admit I misread the title and thought she was talking about bowing, as in the opposite of curtsying.
Read the rest.
Read the rest.
October 1, 2011
This little girl knows what she wants and she isn't afraid to express it. "No bows...braids!" "No nap...story." And so it goes. The pictures are sweet and they express her distaste for things she doesn't like, and her joy in jumping in the mud or visiting a museum. The ending is particularly sweet and warm.
June 11, 2014
Loved by my 2 & 4 year old boys. I think they mostly loved the idea of saying NO to parents. ;) But it is a great way to discuss preference and the kind of NOs that are okay (e.g. preferring one toy over another or choosing a color to draw with). Simple predictable text. Also great vocabulary expander.
April 11, 2009
People who have never tangled with an opinionated daughter will find this adorable. But since I have 2 of the little fiends darlings, my view differs greatly--I can just SMELL the bratdom....
July 13, 2011
Officially Caroline's new favorite. She yells, "No Bows!" - even though she herself wants to wear one all the time- and "No Soap, Bubbles!" I knew this one was going to be a hit when I found it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews