Lights Out

by Arthur Geisert

Mama and Papa are firm: lights out at eight o’clock. But their little piglet is afraid of the dark. They say, “If you can figure something out, go ahead.” So the piglet devises an ingenious series of contraptions that allow him to obey his parents while still keeping the light on long enough to fall asleep. Dominoes, tricycles, bowling balls, and baseball bats play a part as each action and reaction leads gradually to the final tug on the lamp’s switch. Follow Arthur Geisert’s detailed etchings as they reveal each step of kinetic wonder leading gradually to lights out.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 26, 2005

About the author

Arthur Geisert grew up in Los Angeles, California, and claims not to have seen a pig until he was an adult. Trained as a sculptor in college, Geisert learned to etch at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Geisert has published just about a book a year for the past thirty years. Every one of his books has been illustrated with etchings. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and The Horn Book Magazine. In 2010 his book Ice was selected as a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated book of the year. Geisert currently lives in a converted bank building in Bernard, Iowa.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

To see this week's wordless picture books, please visit www.readrantrockandroll.com.

I came across this wordless picture book and had to get it because I love Arthur Geisert’s pig stories and illustrations. If you visit my wordless picture book posts, you probably remember the book The Giant Seed that I reviewed awhile back.

The story begins with one page of text about a poor little piglet who is told by his parents that the lights must be out by eight o’clock. Little piglet begins to wonder how in the world he’s going to get that light to shut off after he falls asleep, rather than before. He has a big imagination and puts it to work. He devises a plan that includes an assortment of contraptions working together with the goal to turn the light off after he’s fallen to sleep. He uses a series of Dominoes, balls, bats, water, toys and pretty much anything he can use to make his plan work.

The etched illustrations are very colorful and detailed. It’s so much fun for kids to see his experiment in action as they turn from page to page. Will it work for piglet? Follow along in the story to find out!

5*****

[Kaethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for me: I only enjoy a Rube Goldberg device if I can see it in motion, apparently

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A clever young pig designs a Rube Goldberg device that will turn his bedroom light off . . . after he falls asleep. Cute idea, but I lost interest after the first few pages.

[Cheryl]

Either you like Rube Goldberg contraptions, or you don't. That's all this is. I will say, if I had the patience and had an interest in the concept, the drawings are clear enough for my failing eyes. I don't, but I can't rate the book low just because of that.

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out more picture book reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...

Mama and Papa want the lights out at 8 o'clock but tell their piglet “If you can figure something out, go ahead.” So the piglet creates a contraption that runs through the whole house that sort of allows him to do what he is asked to do. It delays the light actually turning off for 30 minutes allowing the piglet to get to sleep.

My nephew chose this book and while I wasn't a fan I decided it would be great for a time when words are too much for him. That times came and sure enough the book worked like a charm! The drawings are very complex but he did a wonderful rendition of the cover!! So it all worked out for this day's book, but...

I think more words were in order. It's a very cool concept to have a child devise this contraption but a child looking at this book won't really learn much in a positive way from it. There is no mention of problem solving or why it's important to obey parents or even about how he came to think of each step of the process.

The drawings are strong and I like the almost technical aspect they have to them. The colorful quilt was quite needed and a good choice. I felt like there was plenty of space for words and even just a line every couple of pages would give a parent something with which to base a conversation. I like wordless picture books but this one has too many questions for it to work for me.

How is pulling a string a half hour earlier "OBEYING" his parents? They explicitly stated they wanted the lights out! Not that they wanted the switch to be hit by 8 or to "turn the lights" out by 8 but that they wanted them OUT by 8. So yeah, NO!! He didn't obey his parents, nor did he "figure something out!"

The other problem I had is that if this piglet is willing to go to EXTREME measures to NOT have his light out, perhaps there is an underlying reason! Some fear that would be better talked through and dealt with rather than ignored. There is just some disturbing ideas presented that without words can't even BEGIN to be addressed...

BOTTOM LINE: Needs words!!

______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my picture book reviews in a special feature called Boo's Picture Gallery...

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing a picture book about a child who doesn't like bedtime? Or a kid who's afraid to fall asleep in the dark?

As common as seeds in watermelons. (I've read and reviewed some fine ones, since reviewing picture books on Goodreads.)

But this variation is going to be an original. You see, Goodreaders, the kid in question is a young pig who happens to be a mechanical genius. Get ready for a Rube Goldberg machine of surpassing quality.

An easy way to fall asleep, in just 29 steps: Easy, that is, if you're like the narrator of this first person adventure, one priceless piggy!

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young pig doesn't want to turn out the bedtime light when his parents want him to at eight o'clock. So he invents an elaborate sequence of mechanical events running through the entire house to delay bedtime. Well young pig did buy himself another thirty minutes before lights out. I did like this title a wee bit more than I thought I would.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

For kids who like Rube Goldberg machines, this is pure gold! The illustrations are a little bit small for me to understand what was going on, but my kids seemed to follow them and thought they were funny.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children and I love Mr Geisert’s books! They are so clever, with the most detailed illustrations. We can read them again and again and find something new every time. Lights Out is my favorite, but any of these books is a real treat for children who love figuring out how things work!

[Rylan S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not your standard children's book. A series of illustrations portraying a little pigs ingenious, but ridiculously complex contraption to turn off the light. Creative and detailed illustrations. Fun to figure out how all the steps work!

[Catherine E. Ingram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rube Goldberg machine

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If you can figure something out—go ahead.” Clever-but-overdone solution by an engineering piglet to solve the problem of fear of the dark at bedtime.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

February 2019 - so fun to follow the machine at work, and perfect poring over the details. Ben was into it.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute idea.

Could be included in a program about machines or Rube Goldberg devices, or dominoes, etc.

[skcocnaH · Rating 3 out of 5]

We get to the end, and my six year old and I are like, “why doesn’t she just reach over to turn off the light??”

Also, the piglet is clearly a genius.

[Alyssa Teator · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: "Lights Out"
Author/Illustrator: Arthur Geisert
Published: September 26th 2005 by HMH Books for Young Readers
Genre: Fiction
This book is filled with extraordinary detail that keeps the reader intrigued. Baby pig is afraid of the dark, yet his parents request that the lights be turned off at 8:00. In order to calm his fears and obey his parents, baby pig devises an intricately webbed plan to do just that. Pictures say a thousand words in this book as the audience follows the string of events and contraptions that take place to turn off baby pig's light. The details in illustration provide easy ways to see what the author had in mind when creating this book. This book would be inspiring to those students or children who are curious about mechanics and engineering.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I would read it aloud to my students because it challenges them to sequence events, understand drawings, and connect underlying meaning without words. This book only has wording on the first page and it explains the story in a comic strip type way. This book would be appropriate for 4th and higher. This book makes students become critical thinkers and apply themselves. they are an active reader because they are looking at images in the comic strip and reading for meaning.

[Ariel Cummins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly wordless picture book about a Rube Goldberg machine a little boy creates. His parents are very clear -- lights off at eight. But he's scared to go to sleep without the lights on. So he creates a machine that starts at eight, and ends at eight fifteen -- right after he slips to sleep.

Really fun and detailed illustrations show the 29 steps the machine goes through. Great for elementary or middle schoolers who love machines and the way things are made.

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books is almost wordless. It features detailed illustrations about a Rube Goldberg machine that a little pig builds to turn his lights out from his bed. I love the charming illustrations and the detail. It was a little hard for me to follow, though, and didn't make for a good bedtime story due to the lack of words.

[Audie Verde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an almost wordless book, however, it is not just a picture book. The pictures are very intricate and are actually telling the story. This book might be good for a child transitioning from picture books to higher level, but struggling with, or intimidated by reading. It is also great for children who like puzzles. In a sense, it is an engineering book, with a fun twist.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations are fantastic! The book tells the story of how one little piglet figures out how to keep her bedtime light on longer (the dark is scary afterall). She's quite the little engineer.

Though there are few words, you must study the illustrations to understand the story, see the details!
Rube Goldberg-esque.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, Lights Out, is about a pig kid that uses different contraptions to construct an interesting way of getting his lights to turn off. The themes is a picture book and the ages are kindergarten through eighth grade. I gave this book a 5 out 5 because it a creative and wordless book on how this pig uses his creativity.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

An odd but interesting story for kids who like to play with gears, pulleys, and contraptions. There aren't any words in this one, so it's more of a "pore over book" for a rainy day than a story to read aloud.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

The invention includes many stops drawn in detail going through the whole house. There is only text on the first page
Told by his parents that his light must be out at eight o'clock, a young piglet who is afraid of the dark devises an ingenious solution to the problem.

[The Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The little pig int his story is afraid to fall asleep without the light on. So he devises a brilliant Rube Goldberg-esque method that will turn the light off for him after he's had time to fall asleep.

Brilliant illustrations.

[jenna Hudrlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

caroline and i loved this!! no words but a big diagram like map of this little pigs invention to shut off his light.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was one of the cutest books I've ever read! I loved the illustrations and how at the end it showed the whole process (or story) all over again on one page. It's a very cute book.

[Teri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely confusing for me. I liked the idea, but I really didn't understand much from 3 or 4 pages in all the way to the end.

[Katie Nichols]

for wordless category. Very neat way of doing a wordless picture book; very engaging.

[Sandee Mariner · Rating 5 out of 5]

When i was in elementary school we got to build Rube Goldberg machines kinda like this book. it was so much fun.