Little Big Nate: Draws A Blank

by Lincoln Peirce

Overview

The author of the New York Times bestselling Big Nate series introduces a younger version of this adventurous, mischievous, wildly popular character!

When Little Big Nate gets a new pack of crayons, his illustrations really come to life! In this delightful board book, Little Big Nate's imagination and love of drawing will inspire even the youngest readers to express themselves through artwork.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524851781
Publisher:	Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Series:	Little Big Nate Series , #1
Pages:	12
Sales rank:	452,514
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	1 - 3 Years

About the Author

 Lincoln Peirce has been drawing the Big Nate comic strip for more than 20 years. Born in Ames, Iowa, Peirce grew up in Durham, New Hampshire. As a kid, he began creating his own strips in the sixth grade. Peirce taught high school in New York City and has created several animated pilots for Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. He lives in Portland, Maine, with his family.

Editorial Reviews

2019-09-29
Young Nate brainstorms different animals he might draw before falling asleep.

In this junior version of Peirce's popular Big Nate series, a gap-toothed, preschool-age Nate sees possibilities in his "brand-new box of crayons." In silly rhyming couplets with a pleasant cadence, Nate lists and imagines animals he might draw but quickly rejects his ideas: a toad as "too bumpy!" or a cricket as "too jumpy!" On the final page, Nate fulfills the title's wordplay and drifts off having "draw[n] a blank," never committing to any drawing at all. Since it features a well-known character, drawn in Peirce's familiar cartoon style, this board book will have a built-in fan base waiting to fall in love with little Big Nate. Unfortunately, the ending falls flat, making the book come across more as a series of illustrations designed around a forced joke than a worthy story of its own. Still, it's a visual treat: Nate's face is wonderfully expressive, and there's a sweetly unpolished feeling about the drawings Nate imagines, which mimic a child's spontaneity. Young readers will be drawn to the comical touches, like a "too chilly" penguin wearing a knitted wool cap or a "too inky" octopus, all in bold saturated colors. Alas, the "too silly" monkey with bananas in its ears will alienate readers familiar with the degrading, historical association of monkeys with people of African descent.

It's slight, but it'll be enjoyed by little siblings who have been looking for their own personal intros to Big Nate. (Board book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews