Push Button - Hardcover

Aliki

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061673080 ISBN 13: 9780061673085

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 2010

Synopsis

Push that button and what happens?
Bam!
Click!
Pop!
Wham!

Turn the pages of this book and what happens? All of that (thanks to the Push-Button boy) and a whole lot more!

About this title

About the Authors

With more than 60 fiction and nonfiction titles for children to her credit, Aliki has been delighting her many fans since her first book was published in 1960. Born in New Jersey, she now lives in New York City.

Aliki's books for young readers include the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out titles Digging Up Dinosaurs, Fossils Tell of Long Ago, My Feet, and My Hands. Other nonfiction books by Aliki include How a Book Is Made, Mummies Made in Egypt, My Visit to the Aquarium, My Visit to the Dinosaurs, My Visit to the Zoo, Wild and Woolly Mammoths, and William Shakespeare & the Globe.

With more than 60 fiction and nonfiction titles for children to her credit, Aliki has been delighting her many fans since her first book was published in 1960. Born in New Jersey, she now lives in New York City.

Aliki's books for young readers include the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out titles Digging Up Dinosaurs, Fossils Tell of Long Ago, My Feet, and My Hands. Other nonfiction books by Aliki include How a Book Is Made, Mummies Made in Egypt, My Visit to the Aquarium, My Visit to the Dinosaurs, My Visit to the Zoo, Wild and Woolly Mammoths, and William Shakespeare & the Globe.

Reviews

PreS—Aliki's trademark pink-faced children enliven this uneven offering. It starts off with a "little boy, a push-button boy," depicts him pushing a variety of buttons (everything from TV's to toasters to umbrellas to faucets), and includes the sounds they make. Suddenly, his button-pushing finger is sore and bandaged, and he is sad. He starts to read, then moves on to other activities, ranging from digging to sliding to painting to hammering, until his finger heals. Now he can push buttons, and do other things as well. The aim is unclear here. Initially it seems to be an onomatopoeic story about pushing buttons and making sounds. However, the injured finger is a stretch, and the remainder seems to be an overly subtle hint about broadening horizons. The text, which mostly reads aloud well, occasionally strains at rhyme and meter. The sound effects are excellent, though, and will definitely capture readers' attention. The mixed-media illustrations, which are brightly colored full-page and spot art on stark white backgrounds, have plenty of movement. The text for the sound words is done in a variety of shapes, colors, and fonts, making them stand out. The boy is appealing and busy, and the illustrations from his book jump off the page, clearly inspiring his later antics—an interesting conceit. Unfortunately, the two stories here don't completely mesh. However, parents and push-button boys everywhere will still probably find the familiar situations and gentle reminders enjoyable. An additional purchase.—Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

*Starred Review* What toddler doesn’t love to push buttons? This “Push-Button boy” is particularly enthusiastic about it. From flashlight to elevator to umbrella, he goes on a pressing rampage, creating all manners of results (ring tones, hose sprays, jack-in-the-box leaps) and sounds (everything from vroooomm! to flup! to clack!). He pushes so many buttons, in fact, that his finger aches, forcing him to don a bandage and begrudgingly explore other things to do: looking at a book, working a puzzle, climbing the slide, and finger painting, to name a few. Against the clean white backgrounds, Aliki’s familiar style of mixing pencils, watercolors, ink, and markers gives the tousle-headed protagonist a vivid, crayon-colored expressiveness. (He looks a lot like the impish kid from Aliki’s All by Myself!, 2000). Rhyming text and sound effects add wry touches to Push-Button boy’s playfulness: “Push button ROARRR! Clean the floor.” “Push button SQUIRT! No more dirt!” Best of all, the subtle message about taking a break from technology never denies the fun that can be had from said gadgets. A simple but irresistible concept, a strong execution, a healthy message. Where’s the button for “more”? Preschool. --Julie Cummins

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0061673080
• ISBN 13: 9780061673085
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Aliki
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40