Written to the tune of "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More," this lighthearted frolic by the creators of I Like Myself!
centers on an aspiring young artist who makes elaborate paintings on the ceilings and walls, until mama shouts, "Ya ain't a-gonna paint no more!
" and stashes the boy's art supplies on the top shelf of a closet. Determinedly declaring "but there ain't no way that I ain't gonna paint no more," the youngster climbs onto a makeshift pyramid to reach his paints—the only splash of color in an otherwise black-and-white spread. The rollicking rhymed narrative and stylized ink-and-paint illustrations then reveal the narrator painting his body parts in a variety of wild patterns, while—with comic irony—he chants the refrain that comprises the book's title. In a child-tickling finale, the boy bellows, "But I'm such a nut,/ gonna paint my—/ what
?!" drolly avoiding mentioning the body part that completes the rhyme. Given the plot's premise, Catrow's humorously hyperbolic art fittingly takes center stage here, growing increasingly flamboyant and electric as the boy embellishes more and more of his anatomy—and his playful pooch becomes equally well decorated. Ages 3-7. (Apr.)
