YOU CAN’T DO THAT!

Book Cover

“You can do anything!” claims an unseen narrator before quickly amending that statement. After all, “you CAN’T balance ten tacos on top of your head.” “You CAN’T tuna fish, so don’t even try.” The imagined consequences—depicted in the accompanying artwork—are hilarious: tacos toppling from a youngster’s head, a kid strumming a wary-looking fish. The rest of the examples are equally ridiculous: lifting an elephant with a spoon, riding your bike to the moon, teaching a potato to dance, and expecting a squirrel to sport undies. Some lean into gross-out humor (“You CAN’T fart a rainbow,” “You CAN’T knit with nose hair to make a warm sweater”). In a reversal, the last few pages encourage readers to attempt whatever far-out feat they want—except hugging a shark. As in many of his previous books, Kelley’s artwork relies on firm outlines and both intense and mellow colors. The spring-loaded rhymed text adds to the fun for a combination that will guarantee repeat reading and inspire youngsters to come up with even more outrageous ideas. The children pictured vary in skin tone and hair texture.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.