Silly Book Entertains Children, Asking Them Not to Laugh

If You Laugh, I'm Starting This Book Over

Little Brown and Company, New York, 2022

Written by Chris Harris, Illustrated by Serge Bloch

“If You Laugh, I’m Starting This Book Over” is designed to entertain young children. Over and over, the narrator demands that the listener not laugh. Meanwhile, the book does everything it can – silly names, goofy ideas, and crazy images – to get children to giggle.

The book would work best if the reader hams it up with silly voices and animated language. The reader should try to make the child laugh while begging him/her not to laugh. Thus, this is an interactive book between the reader and child. It could be a nice bonding experience.

“If You Laugh” is a meta book reminiscent of “The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales,” 1997, by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith and “The Book with No Pictures,” 2014, by B.J. Novak.

The illustrations by Serge Bloch are as zany as the text. And the type is funny, too, with lots of capital letters, different sizes and colors, and exclamation points.  

Before reading this book aloud, the reader should read it over. This will give the reader time to learn the material and give a better performance.

About the Author

Chris Harris is the author of the New York Times bestseller “I’m Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-ups,” illustrated by Lane Smith, and “The Alphabet’s Alphabet,” illustrated by Dan Santat. He is also a screenwriter and executive producer for comedy TV shows. He lives in Los Angeles.

About the Illustrator

Serge Bloch is the author and artist of “Reach for the Stars: and Other Advice for Life’s Journey;” “You Are What You Eat: and Other Mealtime Hazards,” and “3,2,1 … Draw! Reimagine Your World with 50 Drawing Activities.” He is a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winner and has illustrated many other books for children. He lives in Paris.