NAKED!

NAKED! written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (2014)

This is so much fun to read! If you’ve ever tried to catch a naked toddler you’ll know what I’m talking about. This unnamed character takes off running after a bath, naked, naked, naked! While the child’s poor mother tries to catch him and dry him off, he’s imagining what it would be like to go to school naked, play on the playground naked, or even do the Hokey Pokey naked.  He decides that a cape would be an okay concession to being totally and completely naked. Eventually he gets cold and submits to putting on some pants, a top, and even slippers. Exhausted, he finally falls asleep.

Together, Michael Ian Black and Debbie Ridpath Ohi capture the sheer joy of running naked through the house. The text is simple and to the point; and really, who needs extra words when the whole idea is to be stripped of all encumbering objects. And the illustrations are pure, unadulterated, masterpieces which leave just enough to the imagination.

Truthfully, the child in this story could be male or female. I only use the masculine pronoun in the absence of gender confirmation.