This book is out of control!

by Richard Byrne

Overview

In this follow-up to This book just ate my dog! and We’re in the wrong book!, Bella and Ben and that adorable dog are back for another (mis)adventure.

Ben has a new remote-controlled toy; it has all kinds of buttons—Up, Down, Siren, Spin. He and Bella try pressing each one, but the remote doesn't seem to be working . . . at least, not on the toy. As things go haywire on the page, Bella and Ben realize their book is out of control! With a remote on the fritz, it'll take the help of the reader to put things right in this interactive story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627799331
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	10/04/2016
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.70(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Richard Byrne is the author and illustrator of This book just ate my dog! and We're in the wrong book! He grew up in Brighton, England, and worked in graphic design before discovering his true passion in children's books.

Editorial Reviews

"This interactive story will empower, educate, and entertain young readers who are on the path to independent reading." —Kirkus Reviews on This book is out of control!

"The artwork beautifully downplays the background, allowing the hilarious chaos to be front and center. VERDICT An excellent addition to interactive or book-themed storytimes." —School Library Journal on This book is out of control!

“[Byrne's] pacing is skillful and his humor sweet-tempered.” —Publishers Weekly on This book just ate my dog!

“This book gives new meaning to pictures being lost in the gutter. . . . A good one-on-one reading, giving children an opportunity to save the day.” —School Library Journal on This book just ate my dog!

“Witty and warm, Richard Byrne's This Book Belongs to Aye-Aye brilliantly champions the role of picture books in children's early life and education. The immediacy in the illustration gives a vibrant quality to this impressive, humorous and slightly post-modern tale.” —Children's Bookseller Choice, The Bookseller on This Book Belongs to Aye-Aye

“Boldly illustrated in a unique style, . . . This is a story based around young friendships, about being positive and helpful to others and always comfortable being yourself.” —We Love This Book on This Book Belongs to Aye-Aye

From the Publisher

What a fun book this is! Ben gets a new toy, which he takes to show his friend Bella. The new toy is a remote-controlled fire engine. But when he starts poking the buttons to get his fire engine to do what he wants, the fire engine just sits in front of the friends doing nothing. On the other hand, Bella’s dog, against his will, does what the control button commands. Up into the air he goes. Then he spins in the air. When Ben pokes the siren button, Bella’s dog howls. When Ben pokes the voice button, the dog shouts, “Help! This book is out of control!” Poking the turn button causes Bella and Ben to join the dog on the ceiling, all of them upside down. Bella asks for the reader’s help. After pushing almost all the buttons to no avail, they finally poke the power button and cause an enormous a power surge, before allowing the remote to set everything right. Once kids and dog are where they were meant to be, the dog pokes the up button and up goes the fire engine’s ladder. The illustrations are cute and the dog is fully involved in the story. Reviewer: Sarah Maury Swan; Ages 5 to 8.

Children's Literature - Sarah Maury Swan

10/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—Bella, her dog, and her friend Ben are back in another interactive picture book. Ben wants to show Bella his new remote-control fire truck. When he presses the various buttons, the fire truck does nothing. However, Bella's dog is flung, spins, and even speaks. Working together with the help of readers, Ben, Bella, and the pooch are able to set things right. The final page is a letter to readers testing whether they paid attention to the havoc the remote caused. As he did with This Book Just Ate My Dog! and We're in the Wrong Book!, Byrne breaks the fourth wall and engages children with giggles and prompts. He continues his habit of using the book's gutter, this time as the wall separating the inside of Bella's home from the outside. The artwork beautifully downplays the background, allowing the hilarious chaos to be front and center. VERDICT An excellent addition to interactive or book-themed storytimes.—Shana Morales, Windsor Public Library, CT

School Library Journal

2016-07-26
The act of reading a picture book has never gotten so out of control. When Bella and Ben attempt to play with a remote-control fire truck, playtime goes awry—first for Bella’s big, spotted dog and then for the main characters themselves. Before long, things are upside down, sideways, switched around, and out of control, and the only way to fix everything is for readers to press the proper buttons to get the book that they are reading back under control. The remote, which is almost as large as the characters and contains simple directional buttons, such as “up,” “down,” “spin,” and “squirt” (!), will be irresistible to tiny fingers. Bold red text conveys a sense of mild—yet exciting—alarm and will keep readers on the edges of their seats, just waiting for the book to get out of control. Minimalist backgrounds and pages splattered with bright colors keep readers’ eyes trained solely on the story; however, the bright palette does not distract from the book’s absence of characters of color—Bella and Ben both appear to be white. The book concludes with a challenge, inviting readers to figure out which button hasn’t yet been pressed. Once readers figure it out, they will undoubtedly want to read the book all over again. It’s finally OK for kids to press buttons! This interactive story will empower, educate, and entertain young readers who are on the path to independent reading. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Review