I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute book. I liked the art and the story was decent. It doesn't fall into the great books that I want to read over and over, but it was fun.

A wonderful picture book that’s should be a first pick for public libraries. Larsen does a fantastic job and it’s beautifully illustrated.

There's more going on in this quiet anti-story than what the text alone reveals. A boy starts his day listing all the different types of stories he doesn't like, each one named as something happening in his life reminds him of it. At the same time, his cat is experiencing something similar, but is having more fun with it. There are three stories happening here, interrelated, and they come together again at the end, when the boy comes home and decides he might like a story about a cat, if you know one. The artwork fits well- it's soft and muted, with bright pops of yellow, orange, and red (the cat seems to really like yellow, and seems to follow the color through its day), and adds a sweetness to the story, and some action to the quiet mood. This is a story that will inspire discussion and imagination, and will get kids thinking about what kinds of stories they don't (and do) like.

#IDoNotLikeStories #NetGalley

Of course at the end of the story my children wanted a cat too. The illustration are minimalistic and efficient, but the whole picture book is a little sad in its grey and cold blue tones. My children love books, so I guess not liking stories didn't talk much to them, but they also love animals, so they were interested in the cat's adventure. It's a creative little book, but I'm not too sure who it will talk to... maybe the children who don't usually want to sit down to hear a story?

Not much to this plot. The idea is clear: that not every book works for every kid but that there's a type for everyone. The presentation is easy to follow and requires little to no interpretation. The illustrations are simple.

such a heartwarming story about a boy and his cat. I fell in love with the illustrated pages! So pretty in pastel colors.

I Do Not Like Stories by Andrew Larsen is a tale about a grumpy little boy who does not like stories. The little boy of this tale tells the reader how he doesn't like stories about space travel, school, waking up, etc. He doesn't like stories about anything but perhaps his cat!

What I liked about this story is how much it reminds me of my 3.5 yr old. I can understand how someone who doesn't have experience with a kid like mine may not understand the silliness and humor in this story. My son likes what he likes. In typical toddler fashion, he outright dislikes things based on his mood or how things look or just to antagonize us. He'll love something one day that he dislikes the next. Very literally like the boy in this book, my son will read anything with trucks or cars or construction vehicles of any type. It can be a real task to get him to read anything that doesn't directly include one of his favorite interests.

But we also loved following the cat's adventures in this story.

I found this very clever. I like how it's a story within a story. The illustrations are simple, beautiful, realistic but still whimsical. It's a great book for very little kids and ticks off all the boxes for me because:
- it's a pleasant and easy read aloud
- there are things to discuss on the page without distracting from the story
- my kids can see themselves in the character
- the book teaches routine, times of day, action sequences, how to have a good attitude about things we don't like

Thank you NetGalley and OwlKids books for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I Do Not Get the Point

I am not quite sure about this story. Honestly, I don't get the point of it. All the text is simply the boy saying the kinds of stories he doesn't like until he concedes at the end that he might like a story about a cat because he loves his cat. The illustrations are a little crude, but that definitely seems to be a trend these days in picture books. In the illustrations, we do see his cat having little adventures as he follows the little boy during his regular day. I didn't find this book interesting in the least.

In the tradition of “Green Eggs and Ham,” the protagonist of “I Do Not Like Stories” simply cannot be convinced--until he is.

This book is an adorable twist on the classic predictable text format (think "Green Eggs and Ham" or "Goodnight Moon"). By including a double narrative in which the words tell the story of a boy who must go to school and the illustrations make known the secret-but-parallel adventures of his cat during the day, Andrew Larsen and Carey Sookocheff create a fascinatingly meta picture book.

Besides being smart, the pictures are beautifully designed in a muted palette with yellow accents. Given the calming color scheme and the conclusion in which the boy and cat get ready for sleep, I can imagine this as a perfect bedtime story that even (or perhaps especially) reluctant readers will want to hear again and again.

To start with, I love the art. The colors are excellent. The story was pretty cute, but it seemed a little weird and indirect, especially since the author didn't have the kid especially admit to liking stories, just he is picky about them.

What a fun book! We are a huge family of readers.
I read this book with my 9 and 7 year old. My 7 year old is not as book crazy as his siblings. This book is about a boy who is complaining about all different kind of books. He clearly does not like any of them. We see his pet cat, going about their day each day that he is complaining.

Cute story, cute pics - we loved this book

I received a copy of this book through netgalley, all thoughts are my own.

In "I Do Not Like Stories," we encounter a little boy who is not a fan of stories, any stories. We follow him and his cat throughout the day and see what they get up to. Will we find out what stories the little boy does like?
I thought this story was really cute. I loved the illustrations and the story flows really well making it easy to read aloud and making it easy to read for beginning readers.

I Do Not Like Stories // by Andrew Larson // illustrated by Carey Sookocheff

While I liked the simplistic illustrations and color palette, I'm not sure that the point of the book comes across as clearly as it should. This boy does not like stories about any of the things most children like and it seems to affect his day in a negative way sometimes. The one thing he does enjoy though is his cat. In the end, he reluctant concedes that he would probably like to hear a story about his cat. But the book ends right there, rather than focusing a little bit more on something that the boy likes after listening to all the things he does not throughout the book. The one thing I could imagine could be done here is to ask the child to tell the story of the cat in a way they think the boy would like. It would make this story a little more interactive. But overall, the feeling of this book is more down than up to me unless you try to add the cheer in yourself.

This might be my daughters new favorite book. I was a little weary at first when I was requesting this one, but as soon as we started reading my mind was changed! My daughters are soon to be 5 and 8 and found this book absolutely hilarious! They were laughing up a storm while I read through this one and I can't lie..so was I. Perfect, funny read for kids!

This is a wonderful story about a child who doesn't think he likes stories. But we find out at the end that he likes stories about things that interest him, like his cat! This would be a perfect story to read to my first graders when teaching them about ideas for writing stories. The illustrations are really cute and the text is simple but powerful!

A book that touches your heart. A very simplistic book with a great message. I think this book will really appeal to those kids who don't really like stories and are beginning to develop a negative attitude towards school. Struggling readers can relate to the boy who is not feeling very positive and I think that the hint of hope at the end will be pretty inspirational. The message is all about making a connection to something that readers can relate to. For this boy, it was the cat, who was a unifying element throughout the pages. What will it be for the reader? I think this book might inspire them to find out. There was not a lot a text - just enough to get the message across, and a lot of looking at the illustrations to help convey the idea. I liked how the somber colors of the book related to the boy's attitude about stories. A very nice read.

I Do Not Like Stories is a picture book about a child who insists that they do not like stories. They don't like stories about waking up or going to space or numbers. At the same time, we see the pet cat going about their own day, missing their kid.

My kids loved that the cat in this story looked like our own cat, Lucy. The cat was their favorite part of the story. They loved finding the cat in the pictures and finding what the cat was up to. This is a fun quick read with sweet illustrations.

A whole mood. Some days all I like is my cat, too, kid.

Not much of a plot but still cute.

Thank you to Owlkids Books and Netgalley for the review copy.

What a great story. I read it twice in a row I enjoyed it so much. With few words so much is said, a boy who doesn't like stories, a struggling reader. So many kids struggle with reading, and we need more books that support this. The illustrations add so much, as we get to follow his cat throughout the day on a number of adventures, but also, his mother is missing and I can't help but wonder if he once loved many things before she left?

Review scheduled on blog for Sep 6/20.

A young boy heads to school, grousing on the many types of books he dislikes — from the everyday to the exotic. All the time, the boy’s cat is living these adventures. The hopeful message is that there’s a book for everyone. Teachers, of course, will love this subtle book; however, what with Andrew Larsen’s playful tone and illustrator Carey Sookocheff’s striking pictures, this picture book will appeal to adults as much as kids.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Owlkids Books in exchange for an honest review.