Karen Beaumont, author; David Catrow, Illustrator.  Harcourt, 2005

I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More is everything a picture book should be. It’s irresistible. I was once told the following formula for making a near sure-fire winner picture book: if you can sing it, it’s a keeper. My girls and I have found ourselves humming “I ain’t gonna paint no more no more, I ain’t gonna paint no more,” to the tune of, “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More” all week. It’s very catchy. The concept of this picture book is simple and universal. A child’s paintbrush finds its way to the walls, ceiling, curtains . . . you get the picture. His mom gets mad (rightfully so) and puts the paints out of reach. But there ain’t no way that this child ain’t gonna paint no more, so he gets the paints down and continues creating–this time on his body. The rhyming text allows readers to guess where the child will paint next, culminating to an adorably clever ending. The lighthearted story is coupled with subtly hilarious illustrations (check out the dog!) that are bright and paint spattered in all the right places. I try to moderate my book-buying, but this is one picture book that I will be stocking in my home library very soon.