Not a Box

Why It's On Our Shelf

An unseen voice keeps asking the rabbit why he's sitting in a box, standing on a box, etc., and the rabbit keeps insisting it's not a box - it's a race car, a mountain, a rocket ship. The minimal illustrations show both the actual box and what the rabbit sees, which validates imaginative play. What this book does brilliantly is capture the frustration kids feel when adults don't see what they see. To the adult, it's just a box. To the child, it's limitless possibility. The companion book 'Not a Stick' does the same thing. Both books are short enough for toddlers but meaningful enough to resonate with older kids who are starting to feel pressure to give up imaginative play.