1000 Times No!

1000 Times No is a brilliant new book by Mr. Warburton, recent cross-coast transplant and creator of Cartoon Network's Codename: Kids Next Door. It's one of the few books that appeals to both Roo (5) and Jasper (2) with bright, bold illustrations and a story that rings true to the stubborn streak that demarcates toddlerdom: they don't want to do what you want them to do. Ever. (Oh, wait– that could hold true for most kids, of all ages. And adults!)



Here's the basic premise: Noah's mom wants him to leave the house but he rallies against her wishes in every way he possibly can- from plain English to Russian to Japanese to morse code to robot (Jasper's favorite, unsurprisingly) to Tagalog to Arabic and beyond… Noah says "No!" in more ways than I could read aloud correctly, so I was pleased to find this video preview of the book that gives parents some help in pronunciation:



Jasper is more of a "nuh-uh" grunting two year old than a straight-out naysayer. Still, he has a remarkable affection for all things negative as big sister Roo did, a bit more eloquently, before him. (As summer drags on here, I kind of wish she'd go back to the monosyllabic ranting of toddlerdom. Kindergarten must be when girls commence with the yakking that never stops…my lovely daughter starts talking at dawn and I tuck her into bed still talking at night… it's exhausting!) Both of them think 1000 Times No is absolutely hi-la-ri-ous. I think it's the kind of funny that is actually smart in disguise: dude, there are hieroglyphs in there! Plenty of opportunities to discuss other cultures and how their toddlers are just as surly as Americans. Win-win! Best of all, Mr. Warburton inscribed our copy for posterity, so Roo and Jasper can show their kiddos in a couple of decades.



Buy 1000 Times No now! It's available wherever cool books are sold. If you ask really nicely, Mr. Warburton might even autograph one for you. I mean, for your kids…