Push Button
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.