No! Said Custard the Squirrel, super silly fun for crawlers-pre k

Pre-k and very early elementary school students need silly time. No! Said Custard the Squirrel is geared and targeted right at the silly spot that ages three through six crave. On the book’s cover we see a duck who is properly dressed as if they’re an artist politely, but firmly telling a curious possum, no. The possum is dubious of the duck’s claim, thus the story behind, No! Said Custard the Squirrel.

When the book starts it’s obvious that the possum knows the duck because they ask Custard the Squirrel if it thinks that it’s got a silly name. It then goes on to very pointedly ask Custard if it’s a duck. Custard, very politely, but firmly says No!, and then goes about doing some very un-duck things, like hanging from a tree, eating a buffet or reading a book.

After each question Custard keeps telling the possum no!, in a playful, dismissive way as it goes about doing something fun. However, after so many times Custard preemptively tells the possum no, in a slightly less playful way. Custard is frustrated and exasperated at being asked the same thing over and over. Meanwhile, the possum’s demeanor moves from incredulous, accusatory, disbelief, anger, and finally in a pleading manner, just when Custard jumps down his throat.

It’s then when the otherwise cool and collected Duck loses it and starts yelling No! in a more manic and Daffy Duck manner. When Custard finally calms down the possum is able to ask its question, which is something that the duck is unable to say “no” to.

No! Said Custard the Squirrel is a repetitive illustrated book that toddlers through kindergarten will laugh at. Custard is kind of a curmudgeon but is also very polite and happy in its own way. The duck is simply happy being a duck and doing un-duck-like things or duck-like things in a different way. When it crosses the lake, it does so in a boat, instead of swimming. The surliest that Custard ever gets is when pressed with a picture of a duck as the possum is questioning him. And even then, it’s not a frown on its duck-billed face, but more of a scowl of disappointment.

In these times it’s easy to assign an agenda to a book. A duck that calls itself a squirrel is obviously code for something, you might be thinking. That’s a reach and it’s an illogical conclusion that would have to be forced from the book. Instead, this is a cute, silly romp about two friends who playfully bicker with one another that’s driven by brilliant and subtle art.

No! Said Custard the Squirrel is by Sergio Ruzzier and is the charming sort of read-aloud book that pre-k kids will love. Because it repeats itself many times kids will know what’s coming. This allows readers to have fun with the dialogue, in addition to pointing things out in the illustrations. Astute readers will ask the audience if they notice any changes in the possum’s expression as the book progresses. The colors in the book are soft and the illustrations have a variety of placement and sizes. This allows for movement and scale for when Custard goes about on his adventure. It also sets about a silly (there’s that word again) book that those read-to-me crowds will grin themselves silly (last time, I promise) over.

No! Said Custard the Squirrel is by Sergio Ruzzier and is available on Abrams Appleseed, an imprint of Abrams Books.

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