I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!

Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow

He loves to paint - the wall, the ceilings, the floor, and anything else he can reach with his paintbrush. Mama hollers, "Ya ain't a-gonna paint no more !" He gets thrown into the bathtub and his paints are put away very high in the closet. But he loves to paint.

Soon he sneaks up and gets his paints. He knows he shouldn't paint curtains or doors anymore. But look - he can paint his head, then he "ain't gonna paint no more". Oh, what the heck, he'll paint his neck before he "ain't gonna paint no more". How much more of his body can he paint before he stops?

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More is a wonderful easy book. If you don't want your child to use the word "ain't" you may have a problem, but otherwise this is great. Beaumont's rhymes lead the child to figure the next body part he is going to paint. After each part he swears he "ain't gonna paint no more!" But like any child he finds it hard to stop. He loves to paint. When mama catches him again he knows he's in trouble...

Catrow's illustrations complete this book. They're ink drawings. They're in black and white except where the paint is. So as the paint is spread further, so does the splashes of color. In the beginning, when the boy has painted the house, it looks like an abstract painting with the lines drawn in. You can guess what it's like by the time the reader gets to the end again.

This book is great for reading to young children who will love the cadence and the color. It's also an easy reader for the child who is learning how to read. Children can identify with the boy in the story and will laugh as he keeps painting his body. A friend lent me this book. I need to get my own copy to have for my granddaughters. I'm looking forward to reading it to them again and again.