Customer Reviews

OK Go

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful book that is as much a delight to the eye as it is to the sensibilities. There is something for children of all ages so it is my new default baby and toddler gift! It's a book children will grow with and keep coming back to.

Ring, ring! Who's calling? I think it's Caldecott!

Carin Berger's timing couldn't be better for the release of OK GO. With "reduce, reuse and recycle" on everyone's mind, her playful praise of being kind to the earth will encourage young children to go green.

Berger's bright, intricate collage had us mesmerized. The book begins with whimsical characters driving a fleet of cars: "GO!" My kids had fun pointing out how some of the cars' wheels were buttons and some were clocks. There's gizmos-a-plenty!

Every page is a delight to the eye, with fun things to discover. Berger uses recycled paper--images from catalogs, magazines, old ticket stubs--to create her art so it's like a treasure hunt. (Try to find her daughter's name Thea hidden in the book.)

With each page turn, more crazy cars and puffs of exhaust appear. The once azure background turns to steel blue, then gray, then fades out to black. "UH-OH!"

The cars come to a screeching halt and a character declares that she knows! She knows what?

Open the gatefold and the characters perform random acts of green-ness. "Use it again, Jen." "Plant a tree, Marie." The cute rhymes of thoughtful ways to help the earth gave us the giggles ("Use your feet, Pete.") Even though this is a short book, it gave us lots of cool things to look at...and lots of things to think about, too!

OK GO is another gem from Carin Berger and not to be missed.

Everyone loves nice clean air, but look at all the cars "GO!" There are many of them. Some are small, some are large, some have only one passenger, while others have five, but they all are spewing out noxious emissions into the air. There are all kinds of cars. Puff, puff, puff! Clouds of cough, cough emissions are coming out their exhaust systems! "Gogogogogogogogogogogoggo . . . UH-OH! STOP!"

"Waste less, Jess,

Catch a ride, Clyde

Don't pollute, man-in-a-suit

Roller-skate Kate

Use your feet, Pete

Share, Clare

Save the planet, Janet . . . "

This is a book with a "minimalist" style text with very few words that carries a very large message to children and adults alike about becoming conscious about the destruction of our environment. The collage art work, made from recycled materials," is very busy and oddly appealing. In the back of the book are little sidebars that talk about recycling, conserving resources and how children can help. There are also additional recommended book and web site resources. Remember, "turn off the lights when you leave a room!"

I love the artistry with which Carin Berger uses scraps of paper to create this magical book. You can read it quickly, or spend a lot of time looking at each page decoding the images. My 9 year old said, "It looks like paper, but it doesn't seem like paper, but it really is paper. It's cool."

Wonderful environmental message illustrated beautifully. Carin Berger's creativity is endless and mindboggling. A definite must have for your child's picture book collection.

This whimsical tribute to recycling and the environment is perfect for toddlers and young children. The book shouts Go! immediately and readers are off following bright red sports cars as they race across the page, each filled with strange pointy nosed or beaked creatures. Turn the pages and they get more crowded with vehicles, all clever and funny, but all pouring out exhaust. Eventually the page is simply filled with the word "go" repeating over and over again. Then come the dark clouds of smog, filling the page and a declaration to Stop! The little creatures figure out many ways that they can help the environment and still get around.

The words here are so very simple and accessible. Older children will enjoy the fold-out page with its short rhymes about what to do to be more green. Younger children will enjoy the cars screeching across the page. Berger's illustrations, all done in recycled materials, are very clever. Even the final tips on the last page are done in a friendly tone just right for children. Berger has taken a complex subject and made it clear, clever and concise.

A very successful green picture book, this could easily be incorporated into preschool units on nature and storytimes as well. Appropriate for ages 2-5.