If David Shannon's award-winning 1998 picture book No, David! looks and reads like the handiwork of a hyperactive 5-year-old, that's because Shannon drew from his own childhood experience -- and most everyone else's, for that matter -- in writing it.
Bounding from one mischievous act to another, little David just wants to have fun, but at each turn of the page, it seems the only words he hears are "No, David!" Still, despite all her scolding, David's mom never gives up on her little rapscallion, and in the story's last few pages she reminds him with a big, warm hug, "Yes, David, I love you."
No, David! has been a longtime favorite with all three of my sons, and even as the tales on our oldest's bookshelf have gotten wilder and more grown-up, he'll pull out this classic every few months for a reminder that there's a little bit of David and his mom in all of us, and that's all right.
No, David! is on sale now for $11.55 from Amazon.
