Read This Book If You Don't Want a Story

Mr. Book With No Story wants his pages uncluttered by pictures and plot lines, but images, questions, and ideas keep invading the unruly pages he is trying to police, ignoring his efforts to chase them away.

Mr. Book is determined to share nothing with readers, but his pages have other ideas.

It turns out that Mr. Book’s big fear is having nothing worthwhile to say, but in this fun, zany tribute to the creative process, he needn’t have worried. The bumbling blowhard of the first page inspires empathy and affection by the time the last page chimes in. The messages are simple: Stories are fun, and all of us can tell them.

full color

Richard B. Phillips wrote the screenplays for the award-winning feature film Eden (2014, starring Beau Bridges) and the horror film Buckout Road (2017, starring Danny Glover). He has also written the animation series for the Korean comic book hero Kimchi Warrior and cultural programs for PBS. His six-year-old daughter challenged him to write a book about a book, and Read This Book If You Don’t Want a Story is the result.

Eric Zelz is a designer, illustrator, and educator whose work has been recognized by organizations including the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Society of News Design. His illustrations for three Tilbury House picture books (Pass the Pandowdy, Please; Read This Book If You Don’t Want a Story; and My Monster Moofy) have received awards and starred reviews. See more at ericzelz.com.