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OOPS
Oops! One morning, while a pig family was sitting down to breakfast, a little milk spills to the floor. That shouldn't be any problem at all! And it wouldn't, except that the milk seeps through a crack in the floor and drips down to the workshop below onto a tray that tips and flips the switch on the grinder whose spinning wheel catches the loose end of a clothesline which gets wound around the leg of a table saw . . . and that is just the beginning of a series of chain reactions that lead from a little spill on the table to a giant boulder in the breakfast room! With each disastrous step depicted as only Arthur Geisert could, a seemingly ordinary incident spills out of control. They say you shouldn't cry over spilled milk, but what if it destroys your whole house?
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 25, 2006
55 people want to read
About the author
Arthur Geisert
60 books24 followersArthur 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
June 24, 2021
A far-fetched series of events leads to the destruction of a home in this wordless book. Though I always admire Geisert's amazingly detailed artwork, this one didn't thrill me much.
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April 28, 2020This book is has no words it literally is a picture book. The pictures on each page is very detail and I feel like it would be hard on those students who do not have a creative mind to make their own stories. This can be used in class for fun allowing your students to think what the page is about based on the picture provided
February 13, 2018
Oops by Arthur Geisert is one of the few wordless picture books which I have read this far. It starts off with a simple glass of milk and ends in ultimate failure, at least on one end. At first, I pictured the book to be about a child who is always in trouble, thus the title, “Oops.” However it was completely different!
Two literary elements include the use of plot and setting. The plot is told through the picture. It helps the recognize the beginning, middle and end. In addition, the setting is revealed through the pictures. Two design elements include the close ups, and the facial expressions. The close ups show what is most important on the page while the facial expressions allow us to understand what the characters are feeling during certain events.
When words are not included in picture books, the pictures must be very vivid, to the point where it would not have needed words in the first place. That is exactly what this book did.
On a more constructive note, I would recommend more of a build up to the conflict to allow for more character interaction.
Two literary elements include the use of plot and setting. The plot is told through the picture. It helps the recognize the beginning, middle and end. In addition, the setting is revealed through the pictures. Two design elements include the close ups, and the facial expressions. The close ups show what is most important on the page while the facial expressions allow us to understand what the characters are feeling during certain events.
When words are not included in picture books, the pictures must be very vivid, to the point where it would not have needed words in the first place. That is exactly what this book did.
On a more constructive note, I would recommend more of a build up to the conflict to allow for more character interaction.
February 21, 2018
Oops is a wordless picture book full of tain reactions. It all starts with a family of pigs eating dinner in their house which sits right on a cliff. Just from one cup of milk falling in the wrong place, the house becomes more and more destroyed page by page. Walls corrode, pillars are knocked down, a big tree falls on their roof, and even a boulder crashes down as well. It’s all happens in no time. The poor pigs are distraught when they start learning their house is falling down the cliff.
The illustrations and artwork in this book are very detailed. It showed every little cup or plate or plant or rug a house would have. There are many vibrant colors that are fun to look at. You could tell the illustrator took a lot of time into each and every page. I feel like a wordless picture book would be quite boring if there were barely any details, so this book really makes up for it. You don’t need any text to know exactly what’s going on. It’s fun to watch the story unravel right in front of your eyes.
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February 28, 2017Title: Oops!
Author: Arthur Geisert
Illustrator (if different from author):
Genre: Wordless Picture Book
Theme(s): wordless, farm animals, pigs, destruction, family
Opening line/sentence: N/A; Wordless
Brief Book Summary:
This book follows a family of five pigs whose worlds’ drastically turn upside-down with the spilling of a glass of milk during their morning breakfast. As the milk leaks its way down into the basement, which leads to the saw powering on and beginning to slice away the beams of the house, the safeness and structure of the pig’s once home is now no more and begins to spiral out of control. As the houses falls, powerlines are torn down, and rocks begin to plummet down toward the house, the family remains safe and sound surrounded by one another showing the true and real meaning of the word family.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Randall Enos (Booklist, Sep. 1, 2006 (Vol. 103, No. 1))
Geisert gives new meaning to the saying "Don't cry over spilt milk." This wordless tale begins when a pig child spills its milk in the house, which is cantilevered on the edge of a river valley. The milk sets off a complex chain reaction that ultimately destroys the home. Miraculously, no one is hurt, and the final scene shows the family together, surrounded by the shambles of their house, smiling at one another in a way that shows their happiness at just being alive. As in his book Lights Out (2005), Geisert uses his signature colored etchings to create a comfortable pig family and a complex (and outrageous) chain of events. However, this time he uses a much lighter palette to convey the sunny, peaceful valley, and his story has a much different outcome. Some children will make comparisons to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and possibly find comfort in the positive aspects of survival; others will simply enjoy Geisert's clever engineering.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Betty Key (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 19, No. 3))
This picture book without words will challenge a child’s power of observation. The illustrations are quite detailed, and one must look carefully to see what is happening. The pig family is at breakfast when a glass of milk is spilled. The milk runs down a heater duct and drips into a tray in the workshop below. The tray tips and flips the switch on a grinder which catches the end of a clothesline. That starts a chain of events that leads to a boulder in the breakfast room and the house turned into a wreck. The book is fun to look at and illustrates cause and effect; however, it seems to have little lasting value.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
While the two reviewers seem to contradict one another, I seem to agree more with Enos and the comparisons that children can make between this book and things within the real world and their own lives. As Enos hits on the fact that “some children will make comparisons to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and possibly find comfort in the positive aspects of survival”, which could be used as a good coping technique, especially for young children. They are able to seem themselves in this glass window and quite possibly could step through the sliding glass door to seek this comfort and find their own resolution. Key mentions that “it seems to have little lasting value”, which I immediately disagreed with. The power that is upheld in these wordless pictures books allows children to step outside the box and take in this book however they please. Whichever way seems most pleasing and comprehensible for them will determine the “lasting value” they have with this book.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
While the absence of books hinders the possibility of a narrator or dialogue present within the book, Geisert does an impeccable job really building up the plot through all the details he puts into his illustrations. As a wordless picture books, it is these illustrations that set the scene and take the reader along through this journey of destruction. The mood is set early within the story as well, and the theme, as mentioned before, is completely up to the interpretation of each individual reader or listener. They are the ones in charge of making sense of this book and the one’s responsible for taking in what they see and compiling their own thoughts into words.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
In a similar way, but completely opposite of the Cam Jansen instructional application, students can be encouraged to create their words, whether that be through a narrator or dialogue between the characters in the family, to correspond with different actions and events taking place within the story. As mentioned before, this allows all students to take their own interpretations of the story and put it into their own words. All story, for the most part, can be seen as different and unique to the own individual student. This gives them a chance to speak their mind and express themselves and the way the read, see, and perceive books that they encounter.
Author: Arthur Geisert
Illustrator (if different from author):
Genre: Wordless Picture Book
Theme(s): wordless, farm animals, pigs, destruction, family
Opening line/sentence: N/A; Wordless
Brief Book Summary:
This book follows a family of five pigs whose worlds’ drastically turn upside-down with the spilling of a glass of milk during their morning breakfast. As the milk leaks its way down into the basement, which leads to the saw powering on and beginning to slice away the beams of the house, the safeness and structure of the pig’s once home is now no more and begins to spiral out of control. As the houses falls, powerlines are torn down, and rocks begin to plummet down toward the house, the family remains safe and sound surrounded by one another showing the true and real meaning of the word family.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Randall Enos (Booklist, Sep. 1, 2006 (Vol. 103, No. 1))
Geisert gives new meaning to the saying "Don't cry over spilt milk." This wordless tale begins when a pig child spills its milk in the house, which is cantilevered on the edge of a river valley. The milk sets off a complex chain reaction that ultimately destroys the home. Miraculously, no one is hurt, and the final scene shows the family together, surrounded by the shambles of their house, smiling at one another in a way that shows their happiness at just being alive. As in his book Lights Out (2005), Geisert uses his signature colored etchings to create a comfortable pig family and a complex (and outrageous) chain of events. However, this time he uses a much lighter palette to convey the sunny, peaceful valley, and his story has a much different outcome. Some children will make comparisons to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and possibly find comfort in the positive aspects of survival; others will simply enjoy Geisert's clever engineering.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Betty Key (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 19, No. 3))
This picture book without words will challenge a child’s power of observation. The illustrations are quite detailed, and one must look carefully to see what is happening. The pig family is at breakfast when a glass of milk is spilled. The milk runs down a heater duct and drips into a tray in the workshop below. The tray tips and flips the switch on a grinder which catches the end of a clothesline. That starts a chain of events that leads to a boulder in the breakfast room and the house turned into a wreck. The book is fun to look at and illustrates cause and effect; however, it seems to have little lasting value.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
While the two reviewers seem to contradict one another, I seem to agree more with Enos and the comparisons that children can make between this book and things within the real world and their own lives. As Enos hits on the fact that “some children will make comparisons to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and possibly find comfort in the positive aspects of survival”, which could be used as a good coping technique, especially for young children. They are able to seem themselves in this glass window and quite possibly could step through the sliding glass door to seek this comfort and find their own resolution. Key mentions that “it seems to have little lasting value”, which I immediately disagreed with. The power that is upheld in these wordless pictures books allows children to step outside the box and take in this book however they please. Whichever way seems most pleasing and comprehensible for them will determine the “lasting value” they have with this book.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
While the absence of books hinders the possibility of a narrator or dialogue present within the book, Geisert does an impeccable job really building up the plot through all the details he puts into his illustrations. As a wordless picture books, it is these illustrations that set the scene and take the reader along through this journey of destruction. The mood is set early within the story as well, and the theme, as mentioned before, is completely up to the interpretation of each individual reader or listener. They are the ones in charge of making sense of this book and the one’s responsible for taking in what they see and compiling their own thoughts into words.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
In a similar way, but completely opposite of the Cam Jansen instructional application, students can be encouraged to create their words, whether that be through a narrator or dialogue between the characters in the family, to correspond with different actions and events taking place within the story. As mentioned before, this allows all students to take their own interpretations of the story and put it into their own words. All story, for the most part, can be seen as different and unique to the own individual student. This gives them a chance to speak their mind and express themselves and the way the read, see, and perceive books that they encounter.
September 27, 2018
Oops takes place in a little yellow house by the water. This house is home to a very happy looking family of pigs. As the family sits down for dinner, something goes terribly wrong. A wire that helps hold the house together falls apart. Bricks start tumbling down and the house starts to break. Everything from the families dinner table begins to spill and fall down. Half of the family seems worried and the other half seems to be laughing at the situation. Pipes begin to explode and water comes gushing out like it’s a fountain. Water continues to come pouring out and the situation continues to worsen. Another wire falls down and hits a rock. The rock begins to fall and eventually crashes straight into the house. The family holds each other for safety. I will stop there so I don’t spoil the ending.
I overall enjoyed looking at this book. I thought there was good detail in the illustrations, which made it easy to understand what was going on. Something that confused me about this book was the illustration where half of the family seemed happy and the other half seemed worried. If my family was in this situation, I feel like we would all be worried. I’m not 100% sure I’d put this book in my classroom because of the situation they were in. I wouldn’t want any of my students to be scared about this happening to them. I feel like cartoon and folk art were used. Cartoon was used because the main characters were pigs and folk art was used because a lot of nature was used throughout the book. I enjoyed how the illustrator incorporated these things.
I overall enjoyed looking at this book. I thought there was good detail in the illustrations, which made it easy to understand what was going on. Something that confused me about this book was the illustration where half of the family seemed happy and the other half seemed worried. If my family was in this situation, I feel like we would all be worried. I’m not 100% sure I’d put this book in my classroom because of the situation they were in. I wouldn’t want any of my students to be scared about this happening to them. I feel like cartoon and folk art were used. Cartoon was used because the main characters were pigs and folk art was used because a lot of nature was used throughout the book. I enjoyed how the illustrator incorporated these things.
November 6, 2019
Arthur Geisert’s children’s book is very fun to look at. The illustrations are incredibly detailed. The book is about a family of pigs who are having breakfast. Some milk gets spilled on the floor and it seeps through the floor into the workshop that’s below the kitchen. The milk travels and flips the switch on to the grinder. The spinning wheel from the grinder gets caught to the end of a clothesline. Each page illustrates the situation getting worse. The book ends with the pig’s house getting destroyed. The family looked very confused, frustrated, and scared. The last page shows that family hugging. The book teaches children that even when a situation grows out of control, your family will always be there to support you. I would use this book to teach my students how to use information gained from the illustrations to demonstrate an understanding of the plot. The book has so many detailed illustrations that will allow students to be able to analyze it to understand what is happening throughout the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2018
In summary of the book Oops by Arthur Geisert, it starts with a pig family having dinner in their house. All of a sudden, the milk spills which leads to to many other things keep breaking to eventually the house falling down and breaking an getting smashed and broken. This book is fiction and slightly fantasy because the main characters are pigs. The story is perfect for a wordless book because it is about one thing leading to another so each picture can show the next accident. I beleive the lesson of this book i that events lead to other events and sometimes it does not end up positive but you still have people around you to make it better. In my opinion, this is a good book for children to work on visual learning and has a good life lesson.
February 13, 2018
Oops is a wordless picture book that is about a family of pigs who live in a suspended house. Since it is only a picture book it was very intricate and colorful. The author paid attention to every little thing because pictures had to stand on their own. The colors are very realistic, and the one pictures fits the whole 2 pages of the book. The book was in detail of the family of pigs since living in suspended house, and their journey on how to overcome the challenges that come with that. Even though it was short, I think that this book would be entertaining for readers who aren't ready to read on their own or even read.
February 7, 2019
This book had a very clear plot and development of the characters, even though there was no text in it! The events that happened to the family's house were easily interpretable, and the motions were made very clear through the help of flourishes. The actions on the pictures almost look as if they are part of stop-motion. We also get a sense about the main characters, the pig family, through the illustrations alone. The illustrator gave the characters enough facial and body expression to allow us to develop their characters.
November 1, 2016
This book, Oops, is a funny and wordless book on a pig family that endures something going wrong with their house that destroys a lot of things. The themes are nature, adventure, and funny. The genres are picture and series book while the age is kindergarten to eighth grade. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 because it is a wordless book that expresses some humour with out any words.
September 19, 2018
OOPS IS RIGHT. The book starts out simple enough. A nice family having a nice breakfast. And then... EVERYTHING GOES STRAIGHT TO CRAP. I swear my eyes were bulging out of my head the more I read on. This was such a rollercoaster. I loved it.
September 3, 2019
I'm trying to think of something to say and the only thing that comes to mind is. "Accidents Happen."
Sadly this went from a small accident to a huge mess. But happily the family is okay and they still have each other.
Sadly this went from a small accident to a huge mess. But happily the family is okay and they still have each other.
January 8, 2018
Why would you even make this book? We always tell children not to worry about making mistakes or having accidents. This simple accident destroyed their house and almost killed the family several times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2019
Genre: wordless picture book
Award:
Audience: 1st grade
A. I know that this book fits the category of wordless picture book because it does not have any words and it only has pictures. By only having the pictures it helps the students visually understand the story as well as it gives them freedom to create their own words based upon the pictures.
B. I think that this book uses lines in the illustrations to emphasize the largeness of the scene. The illustrator uses diagonal lines to make the shapes appear farther away or in the distance. It creates an illusion. By the illustrator using lines the way that he did, it develops the story in an understandable way.
C. I would use this book with a group of children for a "read" aloud so that we could discuss and "read" the story together. I think that because this is a wordless book, it focuses the childrens' attention to the illustrations and allows for them to use their creative brains to make up words or a storyline.
D. Q: "Who were the characters in the story?"
A: "The pig family."
Award:
Audience: 1st grade
A. I know that this book fits the category of wordless picture book because it does not have any words and it only has pictures. By only having the pictures it helps the students visually understand the story as well as it gives them freedom to create their own words based upon the pictures.
B. I think that this book uses lines in the illustrations to emphasize the largeness of the scene. The illustrator uses diagonal lines to make the shapes appear farther away or in the distance. It creates an illusion. By the illustrator using lines the way that he did, it develops the story in an understandable way.
C. I would use this book with a group of children for a "read" aloud so that we could discuss and "read" the story together. I think that because this is a wordless book, it focuses the childrens' attention to the illustrations and allows for them to use their creative brains to make up words or a storyline.
D. Q: "Who were the characters in the story?"
A: "The pig family."
June 5, 2008
When the youngest pig in the family innocently spills a glass of milk, it sets a chain of events in motion that ruins the family home, in this moving and captivating wordless picture book about how a little spilled milk can have bigger implications.
CIP:Depicts, in wordless illustrations, how a little spilled milk led to the destruction of the pig family's house.
"Children will enjoy poring over the detailed illustrations, figuring out how one thing leads to another, and noticing more and more upon repeated viewings." School Library Journal
"Fans will delight in the frenetic action and maze of details in the etched illustrations." Kirkus Reviews
CIP:Depicts, in wordless illustrations, how a little spilled milk led to the destruction of the pig family's house.
"Children will enjoy poring over the detailed illustrations, figuring out how one thing leads to another, and noticing more and more upon repeated viewings." School Library Journal
"Fans will delight in the frenetic action and maze of details in the etched illustrations." Kirkus Reviews
October 17, 2013
This humorous wordless book follows a family of five pigs who are having a nice every day dinner when all of the sudden their house begins to fall apart. Their house is built on a hill above a river and it begins to slide down the hill into the river. The book ends with the five pigs floating down the river on the destroyed remnants of their house, all holding each other and smiling. Even though they had lost their home, they still had each other and that was all that mattered. This book is great for grades K-2 and has a them of the importance of family.
December 4, 2019
Genre: Picture Book-Wordless
Awards: N/A
Audience: 4-10 years old
A. I know that this is a wordless picture book because this book has no words telling the story, only illustrations.
B. The illustrator uses line to create incredible depth on the page. Because of the line on the page, you can really see how far and close some objects are.
C. I would use this book as a fun story time book to help younger students with predictions. The students would love the mystery of the book and not knowing what is next.
D. What fell on the roof of the house? A boulder!
Awards: N/A
Audience: 4-10 years old
A. I know that this is a wordless picture book because this book has no words telling the story, only illustrations.
B. The illustrator uses line to create incredible depth on the page. Because of the line on the page, you can really see how far and close some objects are.
C. I would use this book as a fun story time book to help younger students with predictions. The students would love the mystery of the book and not knowing what is next.
D. What fell on the roof of the house? A boulder!
September 19, 2010
Here's another one that my overwhelmed brain just couldn't take right now. The pictures are detailed and the story relies completely on the visual cues. I really wanted to like it, but couldn't get into the style of the art nor follow all the complexities of the story. I also think the pics look funny in a maybe folksy way that I really dislike against the more detailed realism-ishness of the settings.
August 8, 2016
be careful with who you call clumsy in the family....
I don't know about this. When the first time I saw it, I was like "Oh cool! final destination for kids!". It began really smooth, until page 11. The distance between paint tray and the screw is too far. Impossible. They wouldn't without the character's action
I don't know about this. When the first time I saw it, I was like "Oh cool! final destination for kids!". It began really smooth, until page 11. The distance between paint tray and the screw is too far. Impossible. They wouldn't without the character's action
September 24, 2016
One thing that would make this book score a higher rating would be better pictures. There was a lot of black in them, so they weren't super colorful. Also, I couldn't always tell what was going on. I knew the spilled milk caused a great catastrophe, but I couldn't always tell specifics. But, this would be a good book for children to look at.
October 5, 2007
This book is completely illustrated (i.e. no words). When a glass of milk spills, it sets off a chain of events, which result in the pigs' house being completely demolished. Definitely don't buy this book – we borrowed it from the library.
December 2, 2008
Genre: Picture book/fiction
Topic/Theme: Causality, accidents, humor
Grade Level: K-3
Classroom Use: Independent reading, read aloud
Comments: General read aloud or personal reading
Topic/Theme: Causality, accidents, humor
Grade Level: K-3
Classroom Use: Independent reading, read aloud
Comments: General read aloud or personal reading
October 29, 2011
Spilled milk can destroy a house? Well, maybe. In this wordless picture book, a pig family enjoys a family meal and suddenly everything crumbles! We see the events that lead up to the destruction in this Rube Goldberg type of picture book.
Used for "Oops" Storytime: November, 2011.
Used for "Oops" Storytime: November, 2011.
February 25, 2015
We love wordless picture books because our daughter can read them to us. This one is perhaps a little more advanced: it would be helpful for the child to have an understanding of cause and effect. That being said, our three year old still got quite a kick out of the story.
November 29, 2015
A disastrous sequence of events that begins with the spilling of milk ends up destroying the pig family's house. The message at the end is that family is more important than belongings; not an original theme, but the story is unique and creative in its execution.
February 14, 2016
A wordless book about a family of pigs who discover that sometimes you really can cry over spilled milk. At the breakfast table, one of the kids spills his milk which sets off a sequence of unlikely events that ends up toppling their house.
Excellent illustrations!
Excellent illustrations!
January 11, 2011
Seems pretty extreme for just spilling some milk, but great illustrations!
November 30, 2011
One "oops" leads to another "oops", and so forth until a families of pigs is left with the only thing that matters---each other.
Detailed illustrations add depth to this wordless picture book.
Detailed illustrations add depth to this wordless picture book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews