Nop

December 1, 2024

PreS-K-Nop is a teddy bear who lives in a secondhand shop; he is neither fancy nor plush. Each night, he watches as his fellow toys work hard to make themselves fancier with buttons and ribbons, so that a child might take them home in a crisp paper bag. After a while, Nop gives himself a bow tie and has a thought-what if he doesn't need someone to pick him? With that, he gathers up spare materials and starts sewing a huge balloon, with a crinkly paper bag as the basket, to take him away on a breeze. He sails for miles, high in the clouds, until he spots a square of vibrant green on the ground. Nop leaps out and lands in a zoo, where he finds his new friend, the orangutan. With illustrations sketched in ink and filled in with soft watercolors reminiscent of Quentin Blake's illustrations in Roald Dahl's works, Magerl creates a touching story about choosing one's own destiny. The story doesn't really cover any new ground; the illustrations do far more of the work, with some drawings filling out every inch of the page, and softly muted watercolors providing depth and emotion. Readers could pore over this and find something new every time. A gentle book about deciding one's future for oneself. VERDICT A sweet book with beautiful illustrations but an additional purchase.-Kerri L. Williams

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2025
A lowly stuffed bear literally rises to the occasion as he embarks on an extraordinary adventure. "Nop was not plush in places." The book's opening sentence appears under an image of a scruffy but winsome fabricated bear, in expertly rendered line art with watercolor wash. The following pages emphasize the endearing plainness of the bear and then evoke a lonely atmosphere: "In a place soft with dust, he sat and watched crumbhawks tumble...over the heaping heaps of goods, old and rumpled, at Oddmint's Dumporeum." There is magic afoot: Every night, tea lights illuminate the old place as its cast-off inhabitants get ready for the next morning, when customers arrive to purchase toys and other objects. Nop alone is unable to make himself look fancy enough. After Nop's co-residents have been bought by humans, Nop fashions himself a bow tie from a bit of red ribbon and suddenly has a revelation: "A bear in a bow tie can go anywhere, someplace wonderful even!" He sews a silken contraption--a hot air balloon sans fuel--and the wind pulls him out of the window previously used by the crumbhawks (or sparrows). As he tumbles about and soars over cities below, exciting, poetic text--begging to be read aloud--and dreamlike art will continue to beguile youngsters. Though Nop takes risks, the tone is always soothing. His final, surprising destination--replete with a subtle change from muted colors to brighter ones--supplies an ending both humorous and heartwarming. By turns thrilling and tender--a charmer.(Picture book. 4-8)

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