Sergio Ruzzier

A charmer. It's got a modern sly sense of humor that helps it appeal even to this jaded adult... if I had a child who begged for this over and over, I would readily comply. And the messages, esp. the one about clear communication in the first story, are valuable.

I like the book design, too. It's small enough for a beginning reader to handle, but large enough that it will also appeal to the lapsit picture-book crowd. It doesn't really look like a leveled reader either, so that's good for kids show more who are embarrassed to be seen with them. The cartoony drawings are perfectly apt, and bright, clear, and timeless.

I will look for more in the series and even more by the author. show less

A little creature grows frustrated with his book in this charming tale from expatriate Italian artist Sergio Ruzzier, throwing it away because it has no pictures. Repenting almost immediately, he reclaims it, realizing that he does indeed know some of the words, and that those words can do extraordinary things. They can evoke all kinds of emotions, take him on journeys far and near, and remain with him... always.

Through pure serendipity, I recently read Ruzzier's argument against the idea of show more reading levels - see: Let Kids Read by Sergio Ruzzier - in which the artist speaks of his great love of picture-books, both as a young boy, and as he grew older. How appropriate that here, in "This Is Not a Picture Book!", we have an exploration of a child's frustration with books that don't have illustrations. Although the text here is minimal, it conveys the magic of words - their power and lasting impact. The artwork, done in pen, ink and watercolor, is charming. Recommended to anyone who enjoys more metafictional picture-books, or narratives which celebrate the power of reading. show less

Maybe Sergio Ruzzier is growing on me. Maybe not. It's hard to tell.

This comic emergent chapter book (or challenging easy reader, depending on how you look at it) features the familiar trope of odd-couple friends.

In the first story, Fox is trying to read a book when he is interrupted by Chick, knocking at his door. After some back and forth, Chick asks to use the bathroom... but when Fox hears loud sounds and goes to check, he sees Chick having a party with friends! Fox is annoyed and Chick show more and friends leave.

In the second story, Chick is obsessed with Fox's diet. Fox likes vegetables and soup. But Chick knows that foxes are supposed to eat grasshoppers, moles, chipmunks.... and little birds. Wait a minute... Chick decides it's a good thing Fox like soup after all!

In the final story, Fox is painting a picture. Chick would like a picture of themselves and Fox agrees... but Chick just can't sit still! All three of the stories feature comic panels and Ruzzier's distinctive style. Soft pastels, long noses or beaks, and little tufts of hair mark Ruzzier's art as well as highlight his quirky humor. At the end of the first story, Chick huffs, "I guess he didn't mean it when he said I could use his bathroom." and each story ends with a similarly snarky punchline. It's hard to see the two as friends; maybe they're more like neighbors, with Fox putting up with the annoying Chick. Ruzzier's art doesn't have the crisp lines that I'm used to seeing in emergent chapter books like Branches or Jump-Into-Chapters. He strikes me more as a Toon artist, with more emphasis on the artistic aspect than the plot.

Verdict: An additional purchase if you have a strong interest in graphic novels for your younger readers or a lot of Ruzzier fans.

ISBN: 9781452152882; Published 2018 by Chronicle; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

Fox and Chick are friends who are rather different -- Fox is serious and practical while Chick is emotional and imaginative. But they always end up enjoying their time together no matter what.

This story of friendship is lovely, peppered with humor and heart. The book consists of three chapters/stories. In the first, Fox is planning on a quiet boat ride alone when Chick decides to tag along and imagines increasingly worse fates for them out on the water. The middle story is about an show more unexpected gift Chick gets which sets them at unease until Fox reassures them everything will be okay. Finally, Fox wakes up early to see the sunrise but is derailed when Chick wants to accompany but cannot get ready fast enough.

I love that Chick provides plenty of humor to Fox's 'straight man' routine, but the comedy is never poking fun at Chick per se. Their friendship is always the key takeaway. The language used is relatively simple and direct, which makes this book a good choice for beginning readers. The inclusion of chapters/stories makes for easy places to take a break and/or for a child to feel truly accomplished when reaching the end of the whole book.

The illustrations are gentle watercolors with a somewhat muted palette, although they are still colorful. (I'm not sure how to describe that better; colors are used but they aren't particularly super bold.) Fox and Chick express a number of emotions through facial expressions and other nonverbal cues, making the illustrations a nice complement to the text. The overall style evokes that of a comic book, with panels and conversation bubbles.

The gender of either character is not specified, which I guess is better than automatically labelling them both as male. However, I think most readers have been conditioned to assume male if not told otherwise. And, since we're dealing only with animal characters, there is no diversity to speak of with this title. show less