Is this a scene from a sitcom? Perhaps a video series on parental discipline? Neither.
"No, David!", is author and illustrator David Shannon's hilarious tribute to the trials and tribulations of being a precocious child and an overwrought parent. It is also a 1999 Caldecott Honor Winner.
The Caldecott Medal, named in honor of English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, is awarded each year to the illustrator of the most distinguished picture book for children published in the United States during the previous year.
Illustrated in Shannon's inimitable style, "No, David!" will delight children and adults alike with its predictable litany of adult admonitions to common childhood activities. "Don't play with your food!" and "Settle Down!" are things many parents say at least once a day. Little readers will adore the childlike exuberance and rowdiness of Shannon's artwork.
One of the most endearing qualities of this picture book is the story behind the story. David Shannon wrote and illustrated the first version of this book when he was only five years old. Although the text consisted entirely of the two words "no" and "David", the universal theme was clear: active children spend the better part of their day being told to change their behavior. It was this theme that later inspired the author to rewrite the book, based on his original childhood drawings.
"The first thing I do when I'm writing a book is read the story a bunch of times" says Shannon, describing his method for writing and illustrating picture books. "Then I try to figure out how to tell the story with pictures. The words tell one part of the story and the pictures tell another part. I also try to imagine what the people in the story look like."
Raised in Spokane, Washington, Shannon received a degree in Fine Arts from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He has worked as an editorial illustrator and book-jacket designer. The author lives with his family, including his dog Fergus (who appears somewhere in each of Shannon's books), in Los Angeles, California.
Although this is the author/artist's first Caldecott Honor, his lively children's books have won numerous awards. "How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball", was a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year in 1994. My personal favorite, "A Bad Case of Stripes", was a Junior Library Guild selection in 1998. In 1995, "The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza" was voted an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists.
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