Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK IS AWESOME!
OH NO! (or How My Science Project Destroyed the World)
By Mac Barnett
Illustrated by Dan Santat
Published by Disney Hyperion Books on June 1, 2010
40 pages – ages 3+
Theme/Topic – Books for Boys / Girl Power / Humor
Opening and Synopsis – From the inside cover “It’s a terrible thing when a giant robot starts destroying your city. It’s even worse when it’s your fault.”
A girl genius builds an award-winning giant robot for her school science fair. The robot malfunctions and starts to attack the city. The girl is unable to stop it so she (of course) creates a giant toad to battle the giant robot. This turns out to not be a good idea.
Why I liked this book – First I have to say I am a huge fan of old Japanese monster shows (Godzilla and Ultraman are my favorites).
This book reminded me of them. I love the comic book style of the story. There aren’t many words in the book because the pictures are very important to telling the story. I read the book a couple of times and each time I saw and thought of something new. Here’s a page…
The story was funny and it was cool to see a picture book with a great action / adventure story. I think boys will really love this book. I like the idea that the main character is a girl. I think girls will like it because it has a girl hero. I think it is a great book for reluctant readers too.
The end pages are even cool. They have blue print diagrams of the science projects. There’s a lot to read in the end covers. There is a lot to discover in this book!
The dust cover opens up into a poster.
Even the hard cover is cool. It looks like a scientist’s notebook.
Activities and Resources – I found a great craft activity at the Critters and Crayons website. The activity is to make your own robot out of cardboard boxes. Click HERE to go to it.
I also found a list of do at home science experiments at Science Bob’s website. Click HERE to go to it.
The trailer for the book is cool too (it reminds me of Godzilla 😉 ).
Erik, that is brilliant and I am definitely going to make that robot eith my kids. Thanks!
I saw an activity where you can actually make a robot suit of of boxes too. That would be fun!
This is such a perfect choice! i love the way the different pieces of the story work their way into cover design and everything. You make a wonderful point about how this book can be an attraction to boys and girls. Talk about a great crossover reading piece.
Thanks! I think this book is “perfect” 🙂
This does look awesome Erik! I am definitely getting this one for my son and daughter. Thanks for sharing!
It IS awesome! I’m glad you like my review! I hope your kids like the book! 🙂
WOW!!! That does look like a good book. SO creative! I’ll have to keep my eyes open for this one for sure. My little boy just turned 8. I bet he would LOVE it! Have you seen the book, Captain Arsenio by Pablo Bernasconi? I think you would really like it. Your description of this book reminds me a little of it.
It is a GREAT book! I hope you get it and he likes it! I haven’t seen Captain Arsenio before. I’ll check it out! Thanks!
Creating a robot out of cardboard boxes would be so cool — this book sounds cool, as well! I like the way it mixes science and imagination.
Thanks Ms. Stilborn! I’m glad you like the activity!
Ooh, this looks like fun! You had me at the point where she decides a giant toad is the answer to the robot problem 🙂 I like that the book allows you to see and think different things as you re-read it. Thanks for sharing this one, Erik!
It is a lot of fun! I think you will really like it! I’m glad you like my pick!
We love comic-book style books and robots, so I’m adding this one to our list. We also loved “The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School.”
Kirsten, you must share your blue prints for box costumes with Erik! And Erik, you must take pictures amongst Lego-city creations so we can all scream in terror (for the video!) and post!
I must admit, my husband made the robot costumes when I was at my sister’s house. I called and he said they were having “craft time.” Hilarious!
I bet you can make AWESOME robots too Ms. Larson 🙂
Let’s just say mine would probably have more color.
🙂
WOW! What a great idea! Robots taking over LEGO city!
I’ll have to check out “The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School” – I never read it! Sound like you will really like this book!
Love this book Erik! A must for my nephews I think, hope I can get it here. Thanks for the great review.
I’m glad you like my review Ms. Tulloch! I hope you can find it! I think your nephews will LOVE it!
GREAT title!
I agree! 🙂
I know both my kids will love this book, so thanks for the suggestion!
I hope you are right and they LOVE it!
I think my nephews need this book. It looks really great and I love Dan Santat’s illustrations.
He is a great illustrator. I really like this one because it looks so much like and old Japanese monster movie 🙂
Great review. I must admit I am not a big comic book fan, however I do love that the main character is a girl in robot story. How cool! I will definitely be checking it out.
I hope you do like it. It was cool to find a total “boy” book with a girl hero!
Okay, the cover and title grabbed me. Sounds like a very funny book. Will have to take a look! Thanks Erik for a great review.
It has a really funny title and the cover is really good! It is totally awesome and really funny!I hope you like the book Ms. Tilton! 🙂
Erik…what a great review! I love the way you added all of the photos and video clip. I’m not usually a fan of robots…but I would want to read this because of your presentation! Good job. 🙂
Thank you Ms. Kirkfield! I am glad you like them! 🙂 I hope you like the book (if you get it)!
I love the look on the girl’s face on the cover. Sounds like both the story and illustrations are wonderful. Plus, I love the detail in the hardcover and the end pages you share. Those details really add to the reading experience.
It is a funny look on the girl! 😉 They are both wonderfully wonderful! I am glad you like them. They do add a lot to the experience of reading!
Hi Erik! Excellent review! I have not read this book, but I have been wanting to. I love Dan Santat’s art. It’s so cool! The book sounds great. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Hi (and “Thank you”) Ms. Edwards! Mr. Santat’s art is really fabulous! I think you’ll love this book!
This seems awesome! It seems like this is a graphic novel by the one page- it’s cut up into sections and it has speech bubbles. Does this happen to have blueprints to build a robot?
It is awesome! It is like a graphic novel, but it is only a picture book. It has diagrams to show what is inside the robot, but not how to build it.
Dan Santat is brilliant. My brothers and I used to watch Godzilla movies every Saturday afternoon on the “Creature Double Feature”. Thanks for bringing back some great memories, Erik!
He is very brilliant! I LOVE Godzilla! I am glad I brought good back pleasant memories! 😀
Erik- How surprised was I to find your blog this morning- a real treat- I was a voracious young reader but I don’t think I could compare to you! Thank you so much for linking to my blog’s post on the cardboard robot craft! 🙂 I will be certain to reference your blog as our kids get older! Our daughter is 4 and has just started reading herself- She is currently a fan of the BOB Book series for Early Reading Skills- 🙂 The books are wonderful for young readers because they focus on word endings in each very short book. Thanks, again! New fan!
Thank you for visiting my blog! I really liked your robot craft and thought people should see it 🙂 My little sister loves the BOB books. They really helped her learn to read! Please stop by again! I’ll be visiting Critters and Crayons again and again 😉
This is the first time that I heard about this book, and I am definitely going to check it out. Sounds really great. I also like how you related it to other stuff like Ultraman and Godzilla. Made it even more interesting. 🙂
I hope you like the book! It is really awesome! I am glad you like me referencng Ultraman (he should be called “Awesomeman”) and Godzilla. 😀