BJ Novak’s The Book With No Pictures gets Puffin board book companion

Puffin has acquired The Little Book With No Pictures, the board book companion to BJ Novak’s The Book With No Pictures.

Publisher Joe Marriott acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Draga Malesevic, director of subsidiary rights, Penguin Young Readers, with publication scheduled for 22nd October 2026.

Featuring “the playful humour and interactive wordplay of the original, but with brand-new content perfect for babies and toddlers”, the board book “invites even the youngest of book lovers to delight in the silliness of words, gently introducing the idea that letters represent sound and meaning, and showing from the very start that reading can be fun”, the publisher says.

Novak, an Emmy-nominated writer, actor, director and producer, said: "I learned from The Book With No Pictures that getting laughter from children is a high like nothing else in the world. With this little book, I wanted to give the littlest kids, and the grown-ups reading to them, a new way to laugh together. Testing it and fine-tuning it has been so much fun, and I’m so happy to turn it over to anyone who wants to be a comedian for the best audience there is.”

Marriott added: “The Book With No Pictures is a truly iconic modern classic that has brought early reading to laugh-out-loud life for children and their grown-ups everywhere. Puffin is delighted now to be bringing the magic and fun to even younger readers with this playful companion to the original bestseller – the perfect gift to unlock a life-long love of reading aloud.”