Read This Book If You Don't Want A Story

Mr. Book With No Story wants his pages uncluttered by pictures and plot lines, but images, questions, and ideas keep invading the unruly pages he is trying to police, ignoring his efforts to chase them away.

Mr. Book is determined to share nothing with readers, but his pages have other ideas.

It turns out that Mr. Book’s big fear is having nothing worthwhile to say, but in this fun, zany tribute to the creative process, he needn’t have worried. The bumbling blowhard of the first page inspires empathy and affection by the time the last page chimes in. The messages are simple: Stories are fun, and all of us can tell them.
Richard B. Phillips wrote the screenplays for the award-winning feature film Eden (2014, starring Beau Bridges) and the horror film Buckout Road (2017, starring Danny Glover). He has also written the animation series for the Korean comic book hero Kimchi Warrior and cultural programs for PBS. His six-year-old daughter challenged him to write a book about a book, and Read This Book If You Don’t Want a Story is the result.

Eric Zelz is a designer, newspaper cartoonist, and educator.
“The fourth wall comes tumbling down in a laugh-out-loud tale about a book that doesn’t want to tell a story. Eric Zelz’s pictures are a hoot.” - The Daily Mail (UK)

“Such a fun book to share with young children, especially because they can be involved.” - Youth Services Book Review (STARRED)

“This wonderfully clever book will quickly become a favorite.” - Tulsa Book Review

"The Book With No Story" opens with a scenery-chewing tally of what not to expect: "I'll show you no pictures, no scares and no thrills, / no cows on trapezes, no fish with big gills, / no polar bears on snowboards, no quacking duck bills…." This list is interrupted at, literally, every turn by argumentative page numbers and a burgeoning cast of characters…led by a huge polar bear. Book's stubborn refusal to cooperate only lasts until the chorus invites a diverse squad of young readers to join in a group bear hug, then a hearty shake that gets the creative juices flowing. Though in his mix of verse and prose Phillips isn't much for regular cadences, he does have a way with quick, galloping rhyme. He also strews this meta-tale with enticing story starters ("Once upon a time, Prince Pork Chop Lover discovered that Princess Leaping Pickle had been kidnapped by a Giant Woolly Tundra Snail") and closes with words of encouragement to all young storysmiths: "Imagine a poem. / Imagine a play. / But don't ever imagine / you have nothing to say." - Kirkus Reviews