Common Sense Media Review
By Mandie Caroll
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Hilarious fun with silly sound-alike sentences, great art.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
NO READING ALLOWED begins with a prediction from Ptolemy the Pterodactyl (P is for Pterodactyl) that though sentences in the book "may sound exactly the same, they will mean hilariously different things." Each two-page spread features one, two, or four pairs of sound-the-same sentences and pictures that mostly demonstrate their different (and often silly) meanings. For example, the drawing for "Beware the sharp turn" shows a car rounding a turn on a cliffside road, while the picture for "Beware the sharp tern," shows a bird (the tern) in a bow-tie and glasses reciting a math equation. "The Worst Glossary Ever. Again" at the back of the book helpfully reprises most of the homonyms and homophones featured in the book.
Is It Any Good?
This wildly entertaining collection of wordplay is a joy to read again and again. No Reading Allowed is like its predecessor P is for Pterodactyl in terms of its obsession with the quirkiness of the English language, and just as pleasing. Delightfully silly pairings like "His pants are tapered" (a '90s break dancer in baggy, tapered pants) and "His pants are tapired," (as in the animals called tapirs clinging to a man's lower pant legs). Sticklers for grammar may have their feathers ruffled a tad by the creative license the authors take when making an adjective or a verb out of words almost exclusively used as nouns, but young readers are likely to find it punny and imaginative. Bryce Gladfelter's well-imagined and laugh-inducing illustrations enhance meaning-making and provide lots for little eyes to linger on. Finding the green, fuzzy monster on many of the pages is added fun. This subversively educational pick will have readers of all ages laughing, groaning, and learning.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the pictures in No Reading Allowed. How do the illustrations help you to understand unfamiliar words and the meaning of the sentence pairs? How would this book be different if it had no pictures?
What were some of your favorite sentence pairs? What made them funny or memorable?
Some adults might call this an educational book. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Illustrator : Bryce Gladfelter
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Animals ( Dinosaurs , Wild Animals ) , Adventures , Book Characters
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Sourcebooks Exlpore
- Publication date : November 10, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 48
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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