crabtot recommends
It's been a while since I've posted about books that have made our hit list. As some of you know, we like books that are short (meaning, I like books that are short), uncheesy, a bit peculiar, and preferably have weird author names that Crabtot and I can say out loud and chuckle over at story time.
Which brings me to Nothing at All by Wanda G'ag (dead serious, that's her name). Nothing at All is a book I stumbled upon at Crabgran's this summer. It's been in our family through many generations of children. And it shows. 
(Can't tell what's on the cover. Old ice cream? Paint? Bird droppings?) It's a mess, but it's still around. I fell upon this book with glee this past Christmas. Like her mom before her, Crabtot fell under it's rather bizarre spell too.
Nothing at All is the name of a dog who looks, well, like nothing at all. He's invisible. Which is beautifully rendered as a ball of whiteness: 
Nothing at all lives on an abandoned farm, along with a couple of other ordinary and visible dogs. One day some darling children come by and take the other dogs away. But they don't take Nothing At All because they can't see him. Not content to be left all by himself, Nothing at All follows them. It's my favorite page: 
Along the way, a little bird teaches him a spell that helps him to take shape. He has to whirl round and round saying, "I'm busy getting dizzy" (Crabtot loves this bit) over and over again until he picks up doggy features. At first he just assumes a featureless doggy shape, then he gets spots, then a tongue, eyes etc. Eventually he looks like a real dog, the children adore him, and the book ends happily.
Aside from the odd concept and appealing illustrations, which are all done in a striking palette of green, orange, black, and white, I think I like Nothing at All because it has no big message that I can see. Except, perhaps, that it's best not to be invisible. Whatever that might mean.
Sometimes no message can be the right message for story time. Because sometimes you just want to hear a strange tale by someone called Wanda G'ag, about a white blob, who is actually a dog, called Nothing at All. Works for Crabtot.
Any odd stories pass your way lately? Or other non-messagey books to recommend?
Oh wow -- I LOVE that book. This is the first time I've remembered it since I was a little kid. I have to get it again. As far as whether it's got a deep meaning, it actually kind of does if you look at it from a Taoist perspective. From chapter 11 of the Tao Te Ching:
Thirty spokes converge on a hub but it's the emptiness that makes a wheel work.
Pots are fashioned from clay but it's the hollow that make a pot work.
Oooh, Ravinet, that's good. Except then why does Nothing At All have to gain shape to get the love of the children? Shouldn't he just stay a big empty round white ball to retain his value in the world, per the Taoist perspective?
Well, then he would be all Tao and no Te (which can be interpreted as 'virtue' or possibly 'virtuous action').
The rest of verse 11 goes:
Windows and doors are carved for a house but it's the spaces that make a house work.
Existence makes something useful but nonexistence makes it work.
The dog needs 'existence' in order to become useful (ie. to a kid or to himself), but it's latent non-existence is what gives it life.
I just ordered this one and another by Wand Ga'g on Amazon. So it can still be gotten fairly easily, for anyone who's interested.
aha! Now I get it! Ravinet, you're brilliant.
Funny you found it so easily on Amazon. i didn't pick it up when i serched. Will try again. Maybe I was drunk or something.
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss is about as short and simple as you can get, but my 3-year old son absolutely loves to read it over and over!
thnaks ck--checking out the carrot seed on amazon.
wow, the carrot seed is so gorgeously illustrated. glad to have the recommendation...so many cool books one might miss were it not for someone telling you about it.
Getting to this post a little late... Funny how some of the best books are from our childhood! One of my all-time favorites, and a very simple little tale is called Moose, Goose and Little Nobody. It's available from some used book sites, but alas, no good images of the inside pages. (I'd scan some images, but it still lives at my mother's house in upstate NY.)
Anyway, Crabmom, I just want to tell you how much I love your blog. Where were you when my kids were toddlers and I REALLY needed the crabby voice of reason? Although I do have to say that your wisdom easily translates to crabtweens, crabteens and crabstepdaughters.....
So thank you!!!
sapphira, you are a jewel. Thank you for delurking and for the book rec. Moose, Goose and Little Nobody sounds beautifully offbeat. Welcome and glad you enjoy the blog.
One of my favorites is "The Steamroller, a Fantasy". It's by Margaret Wise Brown - but nothing like anything you've read of hers. It's about a little girl who gets a steamroller for Christmas and proceeds to run over everyone by accident. Quite funny and unexpected. It's out of print, but you can still find it. Another strange one is "The Catalog" written and illustrated by Jasper Tomkins. I don't know what the moral is behind either of those books! Then try "Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant" by Jack Prelutsky for some cool kids poetry!
TBricker, I LOVE the idea of Margaret Wise Brown's steamroller kiddo. I have heard MWB was quite a wacko. Def going to hunt for it. And thanks for all your interesting tips.