Nicholas, That's Ridiculous!: A Story About Being a Boy

by Christa Carpenter, Jennifer Thomas (Editor), Mark Wayne Adams (Illustrator)

Lighthearted and full of fun, this story allows children to relate to Nicholas and the “ridiculous” things he does and shows parents how to learn to appreciate and enjoy the humor behind these happenings. After reprimanding him on his behavior at least 30 times a day, Nicholas’ mom finally comes to realize that he isn't being ridiculous—he’s just being a boy. A book talk section designed to help engage children in discussion, imagination, and perception is also included.

 

Winner of the Silver Medal in the Florida Publishers Association, Children's Picture Book category; Best Illustrator in the 2009 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards; Honorable Mention in the 2010 Eric Hoffer Awards; and the Silver Medal in the 2010 Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Genres: Picture Books

33 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Pamela Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book, lovely illustrations and great concept. I just wanted a little more emotion behind the ending.

[Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about being a boy... or rather, a Kid! While Niece isn't old enough for some of this stuff Nicholas does, she's certainly done about half of it on her own. XD Cute Story.

[Mark Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the illustrator of this book, I think Christa Carpenter wrote this book about me. Of course, "Mark, that's Ridiculous!" doesn't have the same flow. This book is a comical story about a mother's perspective about raising a son. Yes, boys can be ridiculous! I'm one and my mother will vouch for that.

Not only does this book reach readers with a repetitive and rhyming book, but it also provides a Book Talk as well. Parents, teachers, and readers can answer 10 questions about the word "ridiculous." What does ridiculous really say about a person's actions.

I've used this book many times in the last year for audiences of 250 children. The age range is from K-5th. They all laugh and relate to the ridiculous things Nicholas does. I believe parents and children can grow with Christa Carpenter's timeless series. Starting with "Nicholas, that's Ridiculous!" and releasing soon, "Jilli, that's Silli!"

[Katie Bourquine]

could be used to teach common sense behaviors to ridiculous students in the classroom. However, the last page says "you're not ridiculous, you're just a boy". To me, I feel like that is almost encouraging the behavior and so I feel like this book might be best as a solo reading rather than a read aloud.