17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore

Jenny Offill's deadpan narrator rattles off her list of forbidden activities — stapling bunny slippers to the floor, gluing her brother's ears together, freezing a dead fly in an ice cube — and each item is funnier than the last because the logic behind it is so perfectly childlike. Nancy Carpenter's illustrations add a layer of visual comedy that makes the book work just as well for adults reading aloud as for the children listening. The cumulative structure builds momentum beautifully. The honest caveat: there's almost no story here — it's a list with pictures, and readers looking for narrative arc won't find one. A few of the stunts might warrant a brief parental note. But as a read-aloud comedy built for the 4-to-8 crowd, it consistently lands. Parenting Magazine Best Book of the Year.