Let's Do Nothing!

I can't believe this is a bargain book--the artwork is beautiful and the book is a nice, big size, conducive to reading to a score of children at once. The story actually begins on the inside of the hardcover before the first page--there is no page wasted in this book. I was intrigued by the premise so I checked it out at the library but after renewing three times we had to return it. This book is laugh out loud funny--I was wondering why the author seemed so familiar, but then while watching The Incredibles I saw his name in the credits as lead animator; he has had a hand in every Pixar movie we own. After going crazy buying books the first few years my kids were born I have had to become a more discerning buyer (we live in Brooklyn and space is a premium); now that it is on sale I will add it to our library. My kids are aged 29 months and 5 years old, but I think this book would play for ages 3 to 7 best. My husband (NOT a reader) loves the artwork and gets a kick out of reading it (at least he did the first one-hundred times). We also like Pssst! It has the same kind of cool artwork, and the story is hilarious.

Loved this book, and then realized that apart from the great story and the illustrations to get lost in, it was not another formula story... it is completely original!! How refreshing!! (Oh, and the grandkids loved it, too, of course. But really -- this one was for me.)

Frankie and Sal did about everything under the sun one day. They played all kinds of sports. Football, baseball . . . that's enough. They "painted more pictures in a day than van Gogh did in a lifetime." Nuff. They baked so many cookies that Frankie was starting to look positively sick from eating so many. Nuff. They played board games. Your turn to spin. Nuff. They lay on their backs reading stacks `n stacks of comic books. Nuff. All of a sudden Sal had a novel idea and turned to Frankie with widened eyes and yelled, "let's do nothing!" The only problem was how do you do that in a room full of junk? Oh, and don't forget the Chihuahua! They were going to sit on chairs and not move. "Not an inch. Not a fraction of an inch. Zero movement. NOTHING." They pretended to be statues in the park until Frankie imagined 101 pigeons on his body and had to shoo them away. That wasn't going to work. Next the boys tried to be a couple of giant redwood trees. Hey, wait a minute. Sal imagined that the Chi was trying to pee on him. That wasn't going to work. Sal told Frankie he could imagine being the Empire State Building. "Yeah." Then there was a big hairy hand starting up the side of the building. Looked like King Kong was gonna get Frankie! Did anyone really think that two busy boys could actually sit on a couple of chairs in a room full of good junk and actually DO nothing? If you've ever had a couple of busy boys in your house and asked them to cut it out, sit still or take a little time out you'd better get ready for Frankie and Sal. I loved the busy, smiled at the quiet (at least they tried), cringed at the tape on the walls, laughed at that Chihuahua and fell in love with the boys. The art work is unique, unlike most illustrations seen in picture books, but rather has that very appealing graphic novel (comic book) style that is wildly popular with the older youngster. If you have a couple of Sals and Frankies around your house, you just might want to consider this zany, amusing book. Nuff said!

Best friends Frankie and Sal have played every board game they own, read all their comic books, baked enough cookies to feel slightly sick and are now stumped as to what to attack next. They decide to do ... nothing. The plan is to sit perfectly still, no moving, no talking. And how does it go? Hilariously, thanks to Frankie and his over-active imagination. Sal is the mastermind behind this non-activity and explains how they will undertake doing nothing. They will pretend to be stone statues, the type typically seen in a park. This is a good idea, until Frankie's imagination invents a pigeon or twelve. He nearly falls off his chair by shooing the offenders with his vigorous arm flailing. That's okay, Frankie has a better idea. They will pretend to be two giant redwood trees in the middle of the forest. No pigeons there. There may be no pigeons, but there is a little dog who mistakes Frankie's tree for a fire hydrant, if you catch my drift. The boys continue on this way, with Sal brainstorming and Frankie's inability to carry out the plan. His vibrant imagination makes it terribly difficult to sit still, even while pretending to be a statue or a building. Even if he could sit perfectly still as a regular person, he's still blinking and breathing. The boys come to the sudden realization that ... it's impossible to do nothing. And if that is impossible, well, they might as well do something! The illustrations are incredibly clever and attractive. The way the boys are drawn cracks me up. The brains of the duo is skinny little Sal, clad in a red and white striped shirt and classic retro sneakers. His faithful follower Frankie is a foot shorter, with thick black rimmed glasses and his stomach perpetually peeping out from underneath his t-shirt. The glasses are what make it easy to tell the boys apart on the pages where they are inanimate objects. We loved this book. It's realistic, smart and funny. Tony Fucile wrote that the book was based on two bored boys from his childhood - one being himself and the other his friend Steve. Excellent!

This is such a wonderful book! Even if there were no words this book would be a winner! The illustrations come to life and have so much personality. Looking forward to many adventures with these two very enduring characters.