No, David!

Title: No, David!
Author: David Shannon
Publisher: Scholastic    
Date of Publication: 2000
Illustrator: David Shannon
Genre Designation: Children’s Fiction
Readability Lexile: Pre-K- 1 (ages 3-6)

Summary:
The story centers around David, a mischievous little boy who is constantly up to no good.  We see David being told No, No, No, as he tries to get to the cookies, then he goes running down the street naked!  David keeps on going and continues to drive his mother nuts by continuing his crazy behavior.  At the end of the story David breaks a vase and we see a tinge of sadness in David’s eye, then we read the last page that says, “Yes, David, I love you!” 

Evaluation:
This story by David Shannon offers a great deal to a young reader.  He uses a type of text were it allows a young reader to know what words they will see, and can begin to “memorize” the text.  This can be helpful to some readers because it allows them the chance to begin the process of word and letter identification as well as building confidence in themselves.  The author also did a nice job with making David seem goofy enough that every child could find a little bit of themselves within David somewhere.  The theme of the story is a very relevant and important one for both children and adults.  The story is important for children because it allows them to see that even though David is being goofy and acting crazy that his actions do have consequences.  The story is also important for adults because it serves as a reminder that it is not all about the “No” but about the “I love you” and the “Good job” too.  It is easy to get caught up in the “No” and forget about the “I love you” and “Good job.”  David Shannon uses allegory very nicely in No, David!  This story can be interpreted in different ways, depending on you chose to look at it.  No, David! may not have a tremendous about of literary elements within it but you can certainly use it as a starting point, or a great discussion piece about behavior and personal connections. 

Illustrations:
David Shannon does not disappoint with his illustrations in this story.  They are vibrant and exciting to look at.  David is illustrated wonderfully, in a odd sort of way.  The illustrations are one of my favorite parts of this story.

Mini-lesson:
With this book I would focus on analogy.  The students would be put into think, pair, share partners and then would compare themselves to David, how are they the same or different.