- Picture Books
- Ages 3–6
- Comedy
The Hueys in None the Number
Book 3 of 4 in The HueysView the full series
Part of the Oliver Jeffers universeOpen the collection
What is none? What is zero? One Huey asks the question and the others cannot agree. Oliver Jeffers smuggles a genuine philosophical puzzle about nothing into the world's most accessible picture-book format.
- Best for3–6
- FormatPicture
- Length40 pp
- Read aloud~8 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
- Repetitive
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Gentle
- Whimsical
- Absurdist
- Thought provoking
- Warm
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
One Huey wants to know what 'none' means. None is nothing. But what is nothing? The Hueys count everything they can see, and then look for the nothing that isn't there. Oliver Jeffers takes the Hueys into educational territory for the third book, but doesn't lose any of the comedy or the absurdist logic that defines the series. The central joke is a good one: nothing is actually very hard to think about, and the Hueys' attempts to locate it are both funny and, if you let them, genuinely puzzling. The book works as a first introduction to zero and the concept of 'none' for young children, but it also works as pure Hueys comedy for readers who aren't thinking about maths at all. One of the series' more experimental entries, less about character or social dynamics than about an idea, but still immediately recognisable in voice and visual style. Best read alongside the other Hueys books rather than as a standalone.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 3–6
- Read aloud · 3–7
- Independent · 5–7
Prose load
Minimal
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Maths concepts
- Discussion starter
- Reluctant readers
- Gift book
- Educational fun
Avoid if
No common reasons to avoid this one — a rare clean sweep on the sensitivity flags.
Particularly good for children who are…
- Interested in science
- Reluctant reader
- Struggling with reading
In the classroom
How it works in school.
Oliver Jeffers' minimalist, funny Hueys books about being different — a great read-aloud that opens talk about individuality and getting along.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific delight is the philosophy — one Huey asking what none means, the others trying to point to nothing and failing, the question turning out to be genuinely puzzling. The Hueys book that smuggles real maths into picture-book form.
- Trickery and cleverness
- Friendship and belonging
Why parents love it
The Hueys philosophical entry — Jeffers at his most experimental, zero and none as the comic-and-conceptual puzzle. First introduction to nothing-as-a-number for young children; also pure comedy for readers not thinking about maths at all. Best alongside the other Hueys.
- Shared humour
- Conversation starter
- Quick to read
- Beautiful illustrations
In the series
The Hueys.
4 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Oliver Jeffers.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
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