Do Not Go in There

by Ariel Horn, Izzy Burton (Illustrator)

Overview

Do Not Go in There! is an encouraging picture book from debut author Ariel Horn and illustrator Izzy Burton that highlights the power of imagination while touching on themes of anxiety, curiosity, and bravery.

Monsters Morton and Bogart are best friends. But they don't always see eye to eye.

So when they encounter a closed door, anxious Bogart wants to keep it closed, because there must be something really bad on the other side. But Morton thinks it'll be something amazing! Which is it?

Through bright, expressive illustrations, readers learn that, while not knowing can be frightening, being brave can lead to new discoveries. And even though your imagination can make it easy to worry, it can also make life better, less scary, and more fun.

An Imprint Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250189493
Publisher:	Imprint
Publication date:	07/14/2020
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Ariel Horn has taught literature and history to students from sixth to twelfth grades over the course of her career. She is currently the middle school Director of Humanities at a private school in New Jersey. Do Not Go in There! is her picture book debut.

Growing up, Izzy Burton spent most of her childhood hidden in her garden drawing animals from encyclopedias or writing stories and illustrating them. She went on to study Animation at Bournemouth University. She is now an illustrator and animator based in London and can be often found in coffee shops composing her next idea, following cute dogs around, or escaping to her family home to get lost in the landscapes that originally inspired her artwork.

Editorial Reviews

05/25/2020

A shiny red door sits in an otherwise blank landscape. To open it, or not? Bogart, a big fluffy purple and pink critter, says absolutely not: “There is probably a scary wolf with beady eyes who eats bunnies for supper in there!” But Morton, a visual cross between a baby giraffe, a rabbit, and a stegosaurus, can barely contain its curiosity. “I bet there are fireworks and party balloons behind the door! And robots who are in a robot band!” The friends trade ever more elaborate scenarios—one catastrophic, the other Elysian—but eventually Morton bats eager, calflike eyes and, as the book closes, the glass half full wins out. Digital pictures by Burton (The Wonder Tree) have a limited dimensionality, but their candy-colored silliness is well choreographed, showing that while the two friends may have opposing temperaments (“Not wolves: PUPPIES! Snuggly, soft, cuddly puppies”), they can definitely share a vivid imagination. Horn makes a fine picture book debut, with text that practically begs to be read aloud: “There are WOLVES! Do you hear me? THERE ARE WOLVES!!!” Ages 3–6. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Speaks directly to young readers whose fears of the unknown can sometimes overwhelm their innocent imaginations....Tender, reassuring, and lots of fun." — Kirkus

"[The] candy-colored silliness is well choreographed, showing that while the two friends may have opposing temperaments, they can definitely share a vivid imagination. Horn makes a fine picture book debut, with text that practically begs to be read aloud." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2020-03-29
What is behind that alluring red door?

Two friends see the red door with the gold handle and have very different reactions to what might be behind it. Morton, a horned bunny with a lizardlike tail, tells of amazing possibilities and happy endings, presented in red text. Maybe there will be balloons and candy or spaceships, carnivals, and puppies, and wondrous magic. Bogart, a large, fuzzy, purple creature, counters each of Morton’s starry-eyed prognostications with dire predictions of danger and doom, especially to bunnies. Maybe there’s a scary wolf behind this door that eats bunnies. Maybe it collects pointy forks to eat all the bunnies, and it will take Morton’s imagined spaceships to find more bunnies in outer space. The terrors, presented in blue text, grow harsher and more frightening, but Morton is ever ready with more bright imaginings. Morton’s innate sweetness and joy reassure Bogart, and perhaps they will open the door together. Horn’s take on the friendship between the pessimist and the optimist speaks directly to young readers whose fears of the unknown can sometimes overwhelm their innocent imaginations. Burton’s very bright illustrations depict a mashup of the scary and the fun, with Morton’s happy thoughts always coming out ahead. Sharp-eyed readers will also notice another creature looking on, watching the developments. Children and their grown-ups can read together in two voices, perhaps switching characters for the repeat that is sure to come.

Tender, reassuring, and lots of fun. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews