No, David!

No, David! is a 1998 children's picture book written and illustrated by David Shannon and published by Scholastic Inc. It follows a young boy named David who is constantly told "No" by his mother. Important themes such as discipline, proper behavior, parental love, and childhood essence are evident throughout this children’s book through words and illustrations. Regardless of the varying receptions from the public, after its original publication, No, David! was recognized with a variety of different awards and honors, and there were many adaptations that were made in the following years based on of this book.

No, David!

Front cover
Illustrator	David Shannon
Cover artist	David Shannon
Language	English
Series	Caldecott Honor Book
Genre	Comedy
Published	September 1, 1998
Publisher	Blue Sky Press
Publication place	United States
Pages	32
Awards	Caldecott Honor Book, ALA Notable Child Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon title, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, New York Times Best Illustrated Book List
ISBN	0-590-93002-8

Background

When author David Shannon was five years old, he made a book about himself engaging in several mischievous activities. "No" and "David" were the only words in the book, reflecting his limited vocabulary at the time. Years later, Shannon's mother sent him this childhood creation and he decided to recreate it as an homage to the countless variations of the word "no" he heard while growing up. In the author's note, Shannon wryly observes, "Of course, 'yes' is a wonderful word... but 'yes' doesn't keep crayon off the living room wall."

Plot summary

A mischievous boy named David constantly faces disapproval from his mother. From drawing on walls to playing with his food, David's actions always result in a firm scolding. Eventually, David breaks a vase while playing baseball indoors, earning him a timeout. Noticing David's genuine remorse, his mother embraces him and assures him of her love.

Analysis

Themes

This short story presents some important ideas and themes for the young audiences that this book is geared to. Various themes such as discipline and proper behavior are very evident, as this book focuses on the mischievous behavior of David when he disobeys rules. Each page of this book has David acting out things he is not supposed to do, and this theme addresses the common issue of disobedient and improper behavior in younger children.

In addition to discipline and proper behavior, parental love and patience is another theme that this short story highlights. Even though this story circulates around the idea of David’s mother reprimanding him for all of his disobedient actions, his mother’s love for him remains constant and is reinforced at the end of the story with their embrace.

As mentioned in the authors note, this book also is able to help capture the essence of childhood and the curiosity that children often have at such a young age. Through David’s mischievous acts, this book provides a look into a young child’s world, allowing all types of readers, adults and children alike, to relate as these acts are common childhood experiences.

Illustrations

This short story also uses visual elements and illustrations to foreshadow plot developments as well. For instance, with the readers seeing vivid images about him playing baseball with a bat with a vase nearby, it comes with no surprise that the next page there is a tearful David sitting next to the broken vase. These illustrations help reinforce the intended younger audiences abilities to identify what the outcomes will be as a result of certain actions.

Critical reception

There were many positive awards and distinctions that were given to this children’s book.

In 1998, No, David! Was recognized as one of New York Times’ Best Illustrated Children’s Books. This book also was awarded a Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon in 1998 as well. In 1999, No, David! won the Caldecott Honor distinction. In addition to this, in that same year, No, David! was also designated as an ALA Notable Children’s Book. In 2007, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children.” In 2012, No, David! was considered to be one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal.

Since the publishing of this children’s book in 1998, this short story has received a variety of different varying receptions, both positive and negative:

Many viewed this book as a story that helped present an imperfect young character navigating through childhood, and that this book can be seen as a way to spark a conversation between caretakers and children about right, wrong, and how it should all be addressed. This book has been widely used amongst families, with there being many book sheets created to help caretakers have these more difficult conversations with these young children.

However, this book also had some negative receptions that came along with its publication. This book did not necessarily pass well with everyone, with this book becoming banned at some school districts as a result of certain illustrations included in the short story.

Adaptations

There have been many adaptations created from this original short story. These adaptations are as follows:

Original Series Books

• No, David! (1998)
• David Goes to School (1999)
• David Gets in Trouble (2002)
• It's Christmas, David! (2010)
• Grow Up, David! (2018)

Prequels (Board Books)

• David Smells! (2005)
• Oh, David! (2005)
• Oops! (2005)

Sequels (Sticker and Activity Books)

• Uh-oh, David! (2013)

From the original series books, in the final book Grow Up, David! (released in 2018), David has an older brother. His brother is about 8–10 years old.