12 Days of Picture Books Blog Tour Day 10 - The Nonsense Show {A Review}

Welcome to my fourth review post in the Penguin Young Readers 12 Days of Picture Books Blog Tour. I am thrilled to be participating in this event during this holiday season. What better gift to bestow upon your child(ren) than a book (or many books) to instill the love of reading. Not only will I be sharing reviews of some great children's books (6 to be exact for this blog tour), but you will have the opportunity to go over to the Penguin Young Readers Facebook page to enter to win some awesome books for your kids.

I invite you to stop by my intro post to see the list of the books that are a part of this great celebration.

Today I would like to share my review for The Nonsense Show  by Eric Carle.

About the book: 

"In this book, nonsense and surrealism combine to spark creativity and imagination. What’s true? What’s impossible? What’s absolutely absurd? From Eric Carle, creator of the classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, comes a book to make children laugh and think, preparing them for a lifetime of loving both words and art.

Yes, there’s something strange, something funny and even downright preposterous on every page of this book. But it’s not a mistake – it’s nonsense! And it’s also surrealism. Nonsense lies at the heart of many beloved nursery rhymes. Children readily accept odd statements like “the cow jumped over the moon” and “the dish ran away with the spoon.” This fanciful bending of reality is also basic to surrealism.

Following on the heels of The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse (an homage to the artist Franz Marc and expressionism) and Friends, with its semi-abstract artwork, The Nonsense Show forms a trilogy of sorts, dedicated to introducing young readers to different styles of artwork without ever overlooking the need to, first and foremost, appeal to children and their love of play. One of the true legends and pioneers of picture book making continues to expand and challenge the genre."

I have always enjoyed Eric Carle's books, and this is no exception. It is a fun book of silliness with lots of rhyme. I think the best way to describe the nonsense in this book will be to share the children's favorite pages.

We loved looking at the pictures and talking about what was wrong and how it would have been in real life.

I figured the poor snake in the following picture had 2 heads, but the Tabitha said, "They are each other's tail and if one went one way and one went the other way they would find out."

The children picked up on the fact that the dog was talking while the man was barking in the following pages.

There is much more silliness to be found in the pages of this awesome new children's book by Eric Carle, but I don't want to ruin it for you. Don't open the book expecting it to read like a story where all the pages are linked to the plot. It is more like entering the world of a circus or a variety show, and seeing the different acts. Each page is a separate act of ridiculousness, and each page stands on its own. The book is illustrated with Eric Carle's signature painted tissue paper collages, which I have always enjoyed. I highly recommend picking up this book to share with your children. 

You can visit Eric Carle at his website.

Don't miss your chance to win 1 of 10 copies of The Nonsense Show. Just head on over to the Penguin Kids Facebook Page.

Though I won't be posting a review every day of this blog tour, I hope you will remember to head over to their Facebook page to enter to win the books that you are interested in. Be sure to check out my reviews for:

• Little Tree 
• I am Amelia Earhart
• Llama, Llama Gram and Grandpa
• The Book With No Pictures (posting 12/16)
• The Day the Crayons Came Home (posting 12/17)

Also, be sure to check out the Penguin Young Readers Holiday Gift guide where you can build and share your own wish list from a huge assortment of kids’ books for all age groups.

Here are the participating blogs!

Sleeping Should Be Easy
House of Burke
Homegrown Friends

Growing Up Madison
InRandom
Crafty Moms Share
Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Inspiration Laboratories
Clarks Condensed
Book Rock Betty
Kid Lit Frenzy
Bored Mommy
The Delightful Life
Reads and Recipes
Omazing Kids
KidsCreative Chaos
The Chirping Moms
Hello Happy
Spark and Pook
Fun Handprint Art
Mama Smiles
Craftulate
Imagination Soup
Tots and Me
Design of the Picture Book
Gravity Bread
Creative Family Fun
Future Flying Saucers
Mrs. Karle's Sight and Sound Reading
JaMonkey
Coquette Maman
Growing Book by Book
A Little Bit of Everything
Happily Ever Mom
Little Earthling
The Little Tourist

Disclosure: I received a hardcover copy of The Nonsense Show by Eric Carle in exchange for my honest review as a part of this blog tour. No further compensation was given. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.