- Comedy
- I Say collection
- Ages 3–6
I Say
Part of the collectionI Say→Best for 3–6s and a group that can join in out loud — riotous call-and-response picture books that make every reading a performance.
- Books3
- Arcs1
- Span2018–2023
- StatusOngoing
The series
At a glance.
The rules are simple: when the reader says 'Ooh', you say 'Aah'; when they say 'Boo', you say 'Hoo'; when they say 'Oh', you say 'No'. But John Kane's picture books have other ideas, and before long everything is delightfully upside down and the whole family is in fits. Built entirely around call-and-response participation, the series uses colour, sound and simple visual cues to pull young readers into telling the story themselves — with a Halloween-flavoured outing along the way that is gently spooky rather than genuinely scary. These are the kind of books children demand again and again, learning the patterns, spotting the tricks and howling with laughter when the book breaks its own rules.
Best for 3–6s and a group that can join in out loud — riotous call-and-response picture books that make every reading a performance.
Order doesn't matter — each is a standalone interactive game. Any book is a fine starting point.
One arc
The shape of the series.
- IStandalone collection arcLow sensitivity
The say-this, say-that games
Three standalone call-and-response read-alouds where saying the wrong thing is the whole point.
The I Say books are fully episodic — three variations on the same joyful interactive game, with no continuing story between them. I say Ooh You say Aah introduces the format; I Say Boo, You Say Hoo moves it to a haunted house for a gently spooky Halloween round starring a little ghost who's scared of the dark; I Say Oh, You Say No cranks up the contrariness as the book cheerfully refuses to behave. All three are low-sensitivity, short, punchy and endlessly repeatable, thriving best with a group of children shouting along.
Fit check
Right for your reader?
Where the series lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- 15
- 17
- 19
- Best fit · 3–6
- Read aloud · 3–6
- Independent · 5–7
Reluctant-reader friendliness
Very high
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Adult crossover
Low
Grows with the reader
Not especially
Sensitivity envelope
Low overall, and consistent.
Where it sits
In conversation with other series.
About the author