The Children’s Book I Want to Hate (but I just can’t)

Why would I hate an amazing book like The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak?

Jealousy. Pure, unadulterated jealousy.

The concept is so simple, yet brilliant. With no illustrations, this book could have just as easily been published on a home computer. Why didn’t I think of this?!?

And kids absolutely adore it.

My second son claimed it as his favorite when he was only 18 months old. That blew my mind. There are seriously no pictures! Why would it hold a baby’s interest?

Because, as the book says, it “makes grownups have to say silly things.”

He would find this book buried in a pile of other books time and time again. The dust jacket was long gone (superfluous as they are for children’s books).

Then, tragedy struck.

A stomach bug blew through our household. Sadly, this beloved book got in its path and became collateral damage. My oldest son was devastated for his brother. (I’m so sorry! I threw up on The Book With No Pictures! I didn’t mean to!)

Busy with the holidays and other life events, time went by, until I finally remembered to pop it in my Amazon cart. This video, then, is of the baby being reunited with his favorite book after about two months apart from it.

Truly a brilliant book, and one that you won’t mind reading again and again.

Making the Book Come to Life

As fun as it is to read it, I wondered what he would think about recreating a piece of it?

You know how hard it is to make mealtimes interesting enough so that your kids actually eat the food, right?

Well, how about a simple lunch (or breakfast) that has a funny name kids will love, and as a bonus, is actually healthy? I say that’s a win.

And My Head is Made of Blueberry Pizza

The recipe for blueberry pizza couldn’t be easier. Here’s my secret: we use pre-packaged naan at least once a week. This is the brand I typically find at my supermarket, but I’m sure that other brands would work just as well. As a healthy bonus, I buy the whole grain version. It makes the easiest pizza EVER. Just spread your toppings on and pop it in a 425 degree oven for about 7 minutes. So good.

For the blueberry pizza, I pre-cooked the naan in a skillet– just a couple of minutes on each side with a dab of butter.

Next, I spread them with a thick layer of cream cheese.

For the blueberries, I used both frozen (thawed in the microwave first), for that yummy purplish drizzle, and fresh (for the flavor). You could use either option or both.

By far, the hardest part of this experiment was taking the photos. Why did I not wait for a photography assistant? It’s extremely tricky to put pizza on a baby’s head and take a clear picture at the same time. Quite impossible, actually, as the photos show. That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking with it! 😀 Laughter all around, though, and I’m sure we’ll make blueberry pizza again.

The Book With No Pictures is laugh-out-loud fun for kids of many ages and grownups alike. Have you discovered it yet?

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What books do you wish you could hate, but they’re just too dang fun? Let me know in the comments!