Not a Stick Review

HarperCollins

Oh dear. Sometimes sequels just don't work at all.

Portis gave us the delightful Not a Box last year, and it dazzled for seemingly being the perfect picture book. The premise was both surprising and obvious, as if it had been laying there waiting for someone to think of it, and all the rest of us were left slapping our heads.

And it captured a child's imagination like none other, with a simple box becoming an extraordinary plaything.

In this one, we get a stick instead of a box, a piglet instead of a bunny, but there's still the offstage adult chiding about not playing the thing. "It's not a stick" says the piglet, as it becomes a lance or fishing pole.

There's still the minimalist black lines on white paper. Red squiggles have been changed to blue to denote what the character's imagining. The cover has a wood grain instead of being box-like. And on and on.

I so loved the last book. If I hadn't read Not a Box, I might've liked Not a Stick just fine.

I'm having serious trouble imagining where else this series might go. Not a Rock? Not a Plastic Bag? Not a Turd?

The concept is done. Time to take your considerable talents and move on, Ms. Portis.