My friend over at Walking On Mom blog, Tara McLaughlin recommended me this book, as being part of her silly bedtime routine for getting the giggles flowing. We read it last night and my daughter asked for it four times and laughed the whole way through. She then fell asleep instantly!
This book perfectly encapsulates the principles of Playlistening, one of the Hand in Hand Parenting tools. For those of you new to the concept Playlistening (or Giggle Parenting as I like to call it), is when we pick up on whatever makes our child laugh while they are in the more powerful role.
Children love it when the roles are reversed for a while and we adults make mistakes, do things we don’t want to do, and act clueless and confused. It is a welcome relief to the tension, and upset they sometimes experience as they learn and build their confidence in the world.
The Book With No Pictures is a book where the adult finds themselves having to say the words in the book, no matter how silly and nonsensical they sound. As the adult ‘blorks’ and ‘blurfs’ their way through the book they have to say more and more ridiculous things such as declaring they are a monkey and that their head is made of ‘blueberry pizza.’ I love how the author B.J Novak adds in the voice of the exasperated parent who feels out of control having to say such silly things.
You can watch the author reading the book to a group of schoolchildren on youtube here and see just how hilarious it is.
With Hand in Hand Parenting we’ve found that when children feel well-connected, and get to release their feelings with a loving adult, whether it’s through laughter, or tears, then their behaviour and emotions are more on-track. Having good emotional health is also key for healthy brain development, and learning new skills.
It’s been well-documented that bedtime reading helps brain development and children’s literacy, but adding in giggles takes it to a whole new level. Research has found that laughter helps toddlers learn
So add this book to your child’s shelf and you’re not only having a fun read together but also helping them with their emotions, and their behaviour. You can buy it here.
To learn more read my article Giggle Parenting: The Best Discipline Tool Out There And check out Walking on Mom’s post to learn why Silly Bedtimes Lead To Better Sleep.
If anyone has any funny books or ways to get giggly at bedtime I’d love to hear from you!
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Kate Orson 
Oh good! So glad you had fun with it! I just adore that book. 🙂 I hadn’t even thought about the power balance aspect of this. So great 🙂
Wish this book was there when my daughter was younger (she is 10 now) as she would have loved it!
When she was younger, like most kids, she loved it when I read her bedtime stories! She would make me read the same book over and over again and laugh afresh at the same jokes every time without exception! I think this early experience has helped greatly as now she is an avid young reader and cannot go to bed unless she has done some reading!
Oh I love this! I will definitely get this when my little man is a bit older. I used to love it when my parents read the silly words in Roald Dahl books and things like that. #DreamTeam
This is fab – thank you for sharing! It sounds like just the thing I would love to share with my little girl when she is older. Great idea to have a book without words to encourage more expressive reading through words. Thanks for linking up to #dreamteam Hope to see you next time xx
I’ve read about “The Book With No Pictures” somewhere not too long ago. There was a review with about 5 books they recommended. If only my mommy brain could remember where I have seen that?
I think that was Tara from Walking on Mom 🙂
This sounds brilliant, fun and really something that I would have loved too! #dreamteam
Oooo sounds a great book, one we will have to purchase me thinks. Love giggles before bedtime. X
Such a clever idea. The reaction of the children in the video is priceless!
We absolutely love this book! It frequently makes appearances at bedtime 🙂
Sounds like a great book and Inlove the whole concept of encouraging giggles at bedtime. Thanks for letting us know about it.
I’ve heard about this — I think it’s time we get our hands on it! My husband reads to my eldest in bed every night, and they are ALWAYS laughing 🙂 It is so heartwarming. He either does it in a funny voice, or changes all the characters to dinosaurs, etc. He’s a good one 🙂
how funny! Those bedtime giggles are the best. I haven’t heard of a child who didn’t love this book!
I’ve got a copy of this book waiting until my 18 month old is ready to crack up at it! My older nephews love it and you’re right: the frustrated role given to the adult reader is half the fun! Great review.
thanks. Enjoy the book!