The button book

This picture book plays on the universal temptation to push buttons.A squirrelpresumably the first-person narrator of the bookfinds a large, round, red button and wonders what would happen when it's pressed. The squirrel presses the button, and a large rubber horn pops up and honks: "Beep!" The sound attracts a bird and a dog, and together the three come across a triangular orange button. "What does the orange button do?" they wonder, and they discover that it causes them all to clap. As the picture book progresses, other animalsincluding an elephant, a tortoise, a deer, and a small dinosaurjoin the trio, and together they come across and press a giant hexagonal blue button, a round green button, a yellow button (literallyit looks as though it's come off a coat), a square pink button, and a small purple button that can only be reached by climbing a ladder. Each of the buttons makes the friends do something different, from singing and bouncing to blowing raspberries. British writer Nicholls' simple, silly narrative and Woollvin's colorfully childlike illustrations result in a fun picture book that incorporates shapes and colors and that can be used at home and in libraries and classrooms. Pages are dominated by gray with accentsincluding the animals' fur and featherschanging to match the color of each button. Should have readers and caregivers singing, clapping, and bouncing along. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.