Not A Box

A small rabbit shows you are only limited by your imagination in this wonderful book written by Antoinette Portis who was inspired by the memory of sitting in a box on her driveway with her brother. A box is just a box...Unless it's not a box! Antoinette captures the thrill of when pretend feels so real that it actually becomes reality. Her simple, spare text and illustrations show that seeing really isn't believing!

In an interview with Powell's Books Antoinette was asked why she wrote for kids. Her response, "I write books for kids because when I was a kid, they were central to my life. Reading was my most favourite thing in the world. I always wanted to be part of the alchemy. To make something that would be part of children's memories the way so many books are a part of mine". I really like that, and it's a sentiment I can relate to. There are so many of my childhood memories tied to the books and stories I read.

Not a Box has won a number of awards including being named an ALA Notable Children's Book and a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book. It is a New York Times Bestseller and is listed as one of New York's Public Library "One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing". In her review for Not a Box, Amy Brozio-Andrews said "Not a Box presents a good opportunity for discussion, imagination, and interaction. Children and parents can guess what the bunny is pretending to be or do before turning the page. And perhaps most creatively of all, Not a Box, makes for a good jumping off point, in that kids can be inspired to looko at their own cardboard box and see more than a box. Even better, parents and kids can play "let's pretend" together".

I love this book and want it for all the little people in my life. From it's dedication, "To children everywhere sitting in cardboard boxes" to it's final simple illustration, Not a Box, is utterly adorable.