''That Is NOT a Good Idea!'' is a 2013 children's picture book written and illustrated by

Mo Willems Mo Willems (born February 11, 1968) is an American writer, animator, voice actor, and children's book author. His work includes creating the animated television series ''Sheep in the Big City'' for Cartoon Network, working on ''Sesame Street'' ...

. First published by

Balzer + Bray HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Co ...

, it is about a plump

fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; together ...

that meets a

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, and is persuaded to follow the fox to its house in the woods, all the while being observed, as if on a movie screen, by a group of young birds that regularly shout the title words. In 2015, Weston Woods released a film adaptation of the book, with ragtime music by Lucas Elliot Eberl, and animated by Pete List. It won the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Videos in 2016.

Reception

''That is NOT a good idea!'' has been reviewed by a number of publications, including ''

The Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

'', ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'', and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

''.

Awards

*2014 Bank Street CBC Best Children's Book of the Year (Five to Nine) - Outstanding Merit *2014 CCBC Choice *2014 Cream of the Crop List *2014 Irma Black Award - winner

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:That Is NOT A Good Idea! 2013 children's books American picture books Children's books about foxes Literature featuring anthropomorphic foxes Balzer + Bray books Children's books about birds Books by Mo Willems