Little kids get away with all kinds of behavior. Big kids get all the privileges. But your son thinks he only hears “no” or “don’t” or “you can’t.” It’s enough to make him scream.
A curious kid like yours will be intrigued by the new book “Don’t Push the Button!” by Bill Cotter. Open the cover and you’ll be introduced to Larry, a friendly and fun purple monster who isn’t scary at all and wants you to come play. There’s just one rule: don’t push the button!
“Seriously,” says Larry. “Don’t even think about it.”
Oh, sure, it’s a nice button. It’s red and round, and it’s just sitting there on the page, waiting for something to happen. Sometimes, Larry wonders what would happen if you pushed it — but no! Don’t push the button!
Then again, what if nobody was around? What would you do with that button? Larry is pretty tempted to find out, but he wants the reader to do the dirty work. He wants you to “give the button one little push.” And so you do.
Uh oh. If you push the button, strange things happen to Larry. Now what? Push it again and even odder things happen. Push it a bunch of times, and wow. Now you’ve really got a mess and Larry’s in big trouble. He’s no longer a purple monster.
But there’s a way out. There are a few steps you’ll need to take to get things back to the way they were before. But only you can do it because, well, you were the one who pushed the button in the first place.
Of course, you want your child to know that books are good and reading is fun — which is why you need “Don’t Push the Button!” in your house: this book is good fun.
Larry the Monster is adorable and every bit as curious as is your child. He’s like a paper playmate, daring kids to do the not-so-naughty thing he’s told them not to do. But author and illustrator Bill Cotter makes Larry — and the button — irresistible.
Word-wise, there’s not much to this book. You could probably plow through it in about five minutes, but why would you? “Don’t Push the Button!” is a story that absolutely needs to be read with time on your hands and a sense of silliness. Again and again, that’s something kids will really want to do.
“Don’t Push the Button!” by Bill Cotter [32 pages, 2013, $16.99].
Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was 3 years old, and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill with two dogs and 12,000 books.
