The Gift of Nothing
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
★A New York Times and USA Today bestseller!★
From the beloved author and creator of the popular comic strip Mutts comes this classic story about nothing—and everything!—perfect for gift-giving at the holidays and year-round.
Mooch the cat desperately wants to get his friend Earl the dog a gift for the holidays, but Earl already has everything he needs. "What do you give a guy who has everything?" Mooch wonders. Then it dawns on him: nothing! But it turns out nothing is harder to find than you'd think...
This perennial favorite from bestselling author and the award-winning creator of the beloved comic strip MUTTS sends a heartfelt, timeless message about the priceless value of friendship.
Don't miss these other picture books by Patrick McDonnell:
The Gift of Everything
Me…Jane
Art
Hug Time
Tek
The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC's (the Hard Way)
A Perfectly Messed-Up Story
The Monsters’ Monster
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The stars of the Mutts comic strip, Mooch the cat and his canine friend, Earl, break out of the Sunday funnies into the picture book world. McDonnell applies his spare style, sketching his cheeky characters with only a few deliberate lines. Each has a distinctive feature Mooch's red ellipse-shaped nose, Earl's Princess Leia ears that makes them instantly endearing. With plain backgrounds, a limited palette and a small square trim size, the book looks like a blown-up cartoon strip (even the pages have a newspaper-like grittiness). But the story has more depth than the minimalist visuals would suggest. Here, Mooch searches for the perfect gift for Earl. "What do you get someone who has everything?" he wonders. (Earl is the proud owner of a bowl, bed and chewy toy.) Mooch mulls it over (red and black dots and bubbles indicate his deep thinking) and comes up with "Nothing! He would give Earl the gift of nothing." But where to find nothing? Mooch tries shopping (because "Millie came home from the store and said, 'There was nothing to buy!' "). But alas, "nothing was not for sale." How he solves the problem is pure delight, reminding young readers that the greatest gift is friendship, not things. Both Mutts fans and newcomers will appreciate McDonnell's clever wordplay and lovable characters, who prove that nothing can be everything. All ages.
