Portis repeats her previous formula down to the conclusion, where the pig calls the DIY toy “my Not-a-Stick!,” once again appealing to those who think outside the box. Where the offstage warnings appear in white italics on a gray ground, implying a drab rejection of fantasy (“Watch where you point that stick”), the pig's statements are printed against a deep and dreamy blue.

A beautifully designed book, celebrating the power. The pig holds the stick at its midpoint and it becomes a paintbrush, aiming toward Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night From mountain to rocket ship, a small rabbit shows that a box will go as far as the imagination allows. The pig stands astride the stick, and a rearing horse shape appears. Paired questions and answers make it easy for children to follow the story. Portis pairs each question and increasingly emphatic response with a playscape of Crockett Johnsonstyle simplicity, digitally drawn with single red and. As the rabbit insists that a box is not a box, he reveals that it can be a race car, a mountain, or even a burning building. Portis traces pig and plaything in a heavy black line on negative space, then superimposes jaunty blue line drawings that act as overlays to reveal the pig's imaginings. Not a Box Written and Illustrated by Antoinette Portis Children explore the power of the imagination with a rabbit as a guide. An unenlightened voice offstage suggests, “Hey, be careful with that stick.” The pig corrects the false impression (“It's not a stick”) and demonstrates the item's many uses. And where the earlier title featured a deceptively boxlike, hollow rectangle (which an inventive rabbit treated as a rocket or a race car), this follow-up introduces a little pig holding a long, forked object.

Have your child engage with you by reading the words, 'its not a box' C o u n t i n g C ar s Cut off a side of the cardboard box. Featured a plain brown wrapper, this winning sequel proffers a faux wood-grain cover. During the story you will notice the bunny repeats himself by saying its not a box.

Not a box portis