Barely There! NAKED! by Michael Ian Black

LOOK AT ME, EVERYONE!

WHOOOOOHOOO!

A small boy bounces out of a bubblebath and suddenly is beset with the desire to streak the house.

His hair still wet and wild and stray bubblets trailing him, he runs through the house, as slippery as a wet seal, giving his bemused parents and startled baby brother a travelogue of his nude progress.  Racing through the rooms, sliding down the stairs, he even contemplates where else he might go in the... altogether!

I COULD GO TO SCHOOL NAKED!

His parents have that how-long-is-this-going-to-last look, but opt for ignoring the show. Mom goes on with the laundry, and Dad, with sidelong looks, pretends to be unimpressed as his bare boy does a demo of the Hokey Pokey's moves, cleverly shown on page in a birds-eye view.

And then our boy spots his beloved cape in the laundry basked, and putting it on over his bare skin inspires him to create a new superhero, Captain Naked, the nemesis of evildoers everywhere!

BEING NAKED IS GREAT!

BEING NAKED AND CAPED IS ... BETTER!

But just when Mom and Dad seem to have about had it with their in-house exhibitionist, the natural order asserts itself.

COLD!!!

Our impromptu nature boy discovers on his own why people don't go around naked as he reaches for his warm jammies and slippers in Michael Ian Black's Naked! (Simon & Schuster Books, 2014). Debbie Ridpath's exuberant comic illustrations show the joy of our au natural boy, all the while cleverly managing her point of view to figleaf those private zones most artfully with a leg, foot, or, in the schoolroom scene, with a scrupulously placed piece of paper. This is, of course, one of those books which youngsters will find truly funny: if the mere mention of the word "underwear" sets off giggles, this one will engender gales of laughter. (Don't say I didn't warn you! Parents, read this one after the kids are in their pajamas! Teachers: schedule this one right before recess or just before the buses appear.)

Black and Ridpath also collaborated on their popular I'm Bored.