The Wrong Book

by Drew Daywalt, Alex Willmore (Illustrator)

What if the narrator of the book you're reading is just...WRONG?! This hilarious book from the author of The Day the Crayons Quit will have you correcting what you're reading—and laughing!

Do bicycles say cock-a-doodle-doo ? Do firefighters shout Ding Dong! before they put out a fire?

That’s what the narrator of this hilarious picture book thinks! Good thing there are some other characters in this book to set him straight…

With bright bold illustrations, this laugh-out-loud funny story, written by the author of The Day the Crayons Quit , is sure to give kids—and grown-ups—a serious case of the giggles. 

Because a flower goes chugga-chugga-choo-choo . Right? Right?

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Storytime, Childrens, Books About Books, Animals, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

Published February 27, 2024

About the author

Ever since his childhood in one of Ohio’s most haunted houses, writer director Drew Daywalt has been writing escapist fantasy and building worlds of his own. With a degree in Creative Writing, and a concentration in Children’s Literature from Emerson College in Boston, Daywalt set off to Hollywood where he spent years writing for Disney and Universal on such beloved shows as Timon & Pumba, Buzz Lightyear, and Woody Woodpecker, and where his animated series The Wacky World of Tex Avery garnered an Emmy nomination.

His first trip into live action landed him studio screenwriting and feature film directing work with such Hollywood luminaries as Quentin Tarrantino, Lawrence Bender, Tony Scott, Brett Ratner and Jerry Bruckheimer.

With an eye toward picture book writing, Daywalt’s first book THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, debuted on the New York Times Best Seller’s List in June 2013, and has since become a Number One Best Seller.

Reviews

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only read The Wrong Book if you want a case of the giggles. The book starts so well, with a bookmark commenting on the introduction of an apple that goes 'crunch, crunch, crunch'. But things start to go haywire when the flower goes 'chugga, chugga, chooo, chooo'! Things only get worse from there with a dog being labeled as a bicycle and a firefighter going 'ding-dong'. The bookmark gets more and more frustrated as it tries to fix things. Finally it attempts to take over the book, but that doesn't go so well either. Children, young children, especially, are likely to find this book hilarious. They may even start using the wrong words for things and making the wrong sounds with the wrong pictures. This is a funny book that may have to be read over and over again. It will be a delightful one to read if you enjoy making all kinds of noises. Recommended.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be so fun to read to a group of preschoolers/kindergarten children. My daughter laughed out loud at all the things the narrator had wrong & the frustrated reactions of the bookmark character. I’m a fan of Drew Daywalt’s children’s books, they’re highly engaging, funny & just different. Highly recommend!

[Sarah BT]

Pure silliness-great for preschool/young school age when you want something that is just for laughs.

[Jennisen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is super-silly and fun to read!

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drew Daywalt does it again with another funny, "nuh-uh" read aloud. It seems very promising, but I will revisit this review once I've tested it out on actual kids.

[Lisa Yee Swope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book to make a kid go NUH-UH, because clearly the narrator/parent/read-aloud person is off. their. rocker. Big fun.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could definitely see how kids think it's funny. However, I am not a kid, so I did not.

[Debra Clewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bicycles say Cock-a-Doodle- Dooo, firefighters shout Ding-Dong before they put out a fire, and flowers go chugga, chugga, chooo, chooo….wait! What?
Wrong, wrong, wrong!
This picture book, by the New York Times bestselling author Drew Daywalt (author of The Day the Crayons Quit), is a fun title for young children. The story is told through the voice of an anonymous narrator, who gets nearly every sound and object (for example, a dog described as a bicycle), incorrect for the subject at hand. On each page is a yellow rectangular character challenging the narrator, who briefly appears to get it right and then continues on the wrong tangent. The yellow character becomes increasingly frustrated with the narrator and proclaims he is taking over the book. But in the end, it continues to be completely topsy-turvy and the yellow character declares, “Well, I guess if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!, making his own selection of noises.
Young children will have fun making the sounds themselves, and trying to identify which sound the animal, person or object should make. Suitable for children up to 5 years of age.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daywalt's mania is loose again!

This time around an unseen narrator is talking to a bookmark and telling him what images are on the page. He starts with an apple goes "crunch, crunch, crunch!" when you eat them. The bookmark approves. Then the narrator goes wild, labeling a flower as saying "chugga chugga choo choo", a dog as saying "burrrrp!", a firefighter as saying "ding dong", mislabeling bicycles as lions that say "moo", and on until the bookmark takes over. When asked what they say, every mislabeled item respond with the wrong answer. Bookmark's frustration pushes him over the edge, until he finally collapses.

Daywalt is at his most manic on this one. It is silly enough to tickle the funny bones of preschoolers, but not be as well appreciated by older ids.

Alex Willmore's artwork was rendered in pencil, ink, and Photoshop. They are well-matched to Daywalt's mania

This will go well for kiddoes in preschool, but less well received by school ages kids.

Optional for Preschool.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever seen a bookmark take over a book? Well, step right up because that is what you will discover in this silly, noisy, delightful story.
Things start out just fine with an apple that says "Crunch" when you eat it. But things go rapidly down hill from there as the narrator asserts that flowers go Chugga Chugga Choo Choo. Bookmark is understandably upset at these mistakes and attempt to correct the narrator. But, as bookmark discovers, "the narrator of this book is cuckoo-bonker-pants!". Eventually the bookmark decides to take over as narrator but will they succeed in correcting the mistakes?
This is a perfect book to read out loud! There are so many sounds to make and so many possibilities for participation from your listeners. I think this could even work for older elementary kids who appreciate the silliness.
Be sure to let everyone create a bookmark of their own when you are finished!

[Nicole Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book for my honest opinion.

  The first time I read this book to my kids, I had to read it to them three times. They laughed through the whole book each time and always ended with, "Again!". It is a very silly book and the funniest since Daywalt's The Day the Crayon's Quit with a touch of Novak's Book Without Pictures as part of the humor is making the reader say very ridiculous things based on the pictures. I do have to day, I found myself chuckling along with them and never mind when they ask, "Can we read that silly book, again?" Great for new or reluctant readers/listeners and for a good laugh.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars (I liked it)

Weird that I happened to read this directly after You're Going to Love This Book! as they are pretty similar in that they both have the aim of having the readers disagree with the book.

In this book, the narrator is getting things wrong (like saying a shark is a hamburger) and the bookmark is fighting back and getting frustrated at the things that are wrong.

I could see kids having fun with that but it's definitely not my favorite Drew Daywalt book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book begins with a picture of an apple and then the apple goes CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH! But soon it gets crazy with a flower that goes CHUGGA CHUGGA CHOOOO CHOOOO!!!! A little yellow bookmark who is watching all this gets increasingly frustrated as the content of a book gets totally off track. The endpages with the little yellow bookmark in different poses would be useful when introducing and making bookmarks. A silly book with a dash of metafiction that will be great fun to share!

"WRONG! WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. This is the wrongest wrong in Wrong Town."

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

When a book's narrator gets things wildly wrong, a bookmark attempts to set him straight before giving up and joining in the hilarious factual errors.

This picture book is a parody of child's informal book that features animals and objects and the sounds they make. The things presents are misidentified and make the wrong sounds. It will appeal to fans of slapstick humor.

After reading this, my child said, "This is the dumbest book I have ever read." Over-the-top silliness isn't our family's cup of tea.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story narrated by a tag you would find on an item for sale. The tag is silly and labels items with the wrong names and descriptions or sounds. Reading aloud to children may cause them to interact and correct the words written on the page misidentifying the items. Should encourage interaction when the children process the information and dispute the names. "This is a lion. It says Moo Moo Moo!"And you can ride it and the horn goes "cock-a-doodle-doo!" (bicycle)

[Carolienvanderwaarde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kleuters zullen hiervan smullen, dit boek probeert je van alles wijs te maken en er klopt HELEMAAL NIETS VAN! En ook de boekenlegger die vrolijk aan dit boek begint, gaat zich steeds meer verbazen en wordt bozer en bozer, want in een boek horen natuurlijk helemaal geen fouten, of erger nog, fauten te staan!
Voor mij had de allerlaatste bladzijde geschrapt mogen worden... Want wie weet eigenlijk wat een boekenlegger normaal gesproken zou zeggen...?

[Katie L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is listed on my school district’s reading list for the 2025-2026 school year, so naturally, I am going to read it!

😂😂😂

This is going to be a GREAT book to teach onomatopoeias to my fourth graders!! This could be great for early elementary to learn what correct sounds go with certain things. This could be great for older students to rewrite the ending as a creative writing assignment!! So many possibilities!!! Very silly, very funny, be sure to bring the energy for this read aloud!!

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the narrator of a book starts getting things really, really wrong. The bookmark decides it must fix things. But is that even possible?

This is a very silly book in which animals and people and inanimate objects start making the wrong noises and the bookmark does its best to straighten things out, but it may be beyond help. Kids who love silliness should find this hilarious. There’s a lot of onomatopoeia, so it would be a good book to use to illustrate that literary device.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bookmark offers opinions throughout the story as the book offers wrong information about the items on the page. It gets more and more frustrated until it takes over for the narrator. Readers will love the humor and laugh along at some of the ridiculous things the narrator tells them. A fun read aloud.

[Kristen Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful children’s book. We just checked it out from the library and I will keep it for a while. My toddler is asking to read it on repeat. She laughs throughout the whole thing. She’s called it hilarious and says that she likes it. Definitely one I’ll suggest to all my friends with young children.

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review:

I loved this hilarious book! I loved that it was like a conversation/fight between the bookmark character and the narrator on what the different things/creatures were or said! Some of the things the narrator said were so surprising that they made me laugh out loud!

Summary:

Do you think a cow says oink or a firefighter says ding-dong? This narrator does and they are so very wrong! Luckily the mighty bookmark knows better and can get things straightened out!

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only caveat I have about this book is that it might be confusing for very young children; this is defiantly a book I would read to young children. Many things are introduced that are not what they really are (hence the name of the book). I think older children will be able to get the point. Really liked the illustrations.

[Fahula · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun, silly book. It is an excellent way to introduce onomatopoeia since this is a story of onomatopoeia gone wrong. I love the poor, baffled bookmark trying to keep things on track. This would be a fun book to get students to do some imagining and writing on their own. It would also work well as a read-aloud in the form of a skit.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I definitely underestimated how much kids would enjoy this book, but they really liked it, pretty much reacting exactly like our bookmark narrator did. One thing I liked about it was being able to connect it to choosing the right book at the library. It also tied in nicely to other elements of storytime, like animal sounds in a hiding game, and fit our theme of phonological awareness well.

[Ronda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first thought? Finally, something kooky enough to appeal to the fans of The Book With No Pictures. My suspicion is that it will depend on the group that I read aloud to, but I am thinking K-1. That said, it could be a fun way to bring up onomatopoeia and maybe a fun way to introduce editing--how to mark-up and why we need to re-read. Will revisit once I've tried it out.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love being a goof in storytime, sharing silly books with kids, and this book will be 100% a hit, I guarantee it!

Themes: humor, animals, sounds things make, general silliness :)
Ages: toddler-1st grade
Pub year: 2024

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is begging to be shared at a preschool story time. The illustrations and trim size are a little small, but they are brightly colored and fairly high-contrast. But the premise is hilarious and little readers who love correcting adults will love this silly book.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for preschoolers and a fun library story time on pure silliness! Comparable to The Book With No Pictures where the narrator interacts with the audience, this book is equally hilarious and bound to bring many laughs.

[Suebee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds me a bit of the "Chester" books by Melanie Watt - very funny and kids will love it. Be prepared to have two voices ready or have another reader ready to do the "stern" voice while you read the silly voice. :)

[Charlotte H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

this bookmark listens as Drew Daywalt tells this book. (from me.) (from troy he shouts) IT IS SO SILLY ESPESHILY WHEN THE YELLOW PAPER CALLS HIM A CUKOO BONKER HEAD I WAS LAUGHING SO HARD I ALMOST PEED MY PANTS