Let's Do Nothing

Let’s do nothing

Written and Illustrated by Tony Fucile

Candlewick Press, 2009

40 pages

Children’s/ Picture book

I chose this book because of the title, how many time do we get to just sit and do nothing? Actually its quite harder than you would think, Frankie and his friend Sal figure that out the hard way. They start of being bored because they have done everything two little boys can think of doing. They have painted pictures, baked cookies, and ready every comic imaginable. Sal figures out that they need to try to do nothing.. easier said than done. Frankie has a hard time doing nothing; he tries shooing pigeons away when he’s a stone statue, and a dog going to the bathroom on him when he is a big tree. Even Godzilla comes to see him when he is the empire state building. As Frankie is struggling the boys come across a brilliant discovery that changes their whole view of thinking.

                The illustration in the book is very vivid and colorful. The pages are full of pretty backgrounds and two very nosy, busy boys.  The boys are drawn like cartoon characters, yet still have human characteristics. The text in this book was all over the page, as well as it was small and larger print. The mediums used in this illustration are ink, colored pencil, and acrylic on watercolor paper. I feel that he did a wonderful job of portraying the interest that young boys have, and how many questions they have and how their imaginations run wild.

                This story can be read to Kindergarten through sixth graders, everyone needs to be reminded that you can/ can’t do nothing. You can teach your students about self control, by making them sit still like the boys do in the story. They can pretend that they are a tree or statue and what type of natural things they would encounter. Your students can compare and contrast why they think that Sal can sit and do nothing, while Frankie is having great difficulties sitting and doing nothing.  Also a science lesson on the forces of motion, and how no matter what our bodies are always doing something.