Oh Dear!

by Rod Campbell

Buster goes down to the farmyard to fetch the eggs for Grandma. But where will he find them? Lift the flaps, meet all the farm animals and help Buster find an egg for his breakfast!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Animals

20 pages, Board book

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

He was brought up in Zimbabwe and returned to Britain where he completed a doctorate in organic chemistry. In 1980 he became involved in children's publishing where he began designing innovative books with interactive elements and repetitive phrases.

In 1987 he founded Campbell Blackie Books in partnership with his publisher Blackie. Campbell Books (as it became in 1989) was sold in 1995 to Macmillan Publishers.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reckless grandmother dispatches a clueless pre-school infant to undertake menial labour on her farm unattended. Unsurprisingly, without guidance, the child takes forever to complete the simplest tasks. Oh, dear! Grandma will regret her cavalier attitude to childcare one day.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this both at the Eggstravaganza and my Laptime this year and it went over much better at the Laptime. The toddlers were fascinated with the flap, getting off laps and coming up close to see the flaps. The animal sounds, and repeated "Oh Dear!" worked well with the babies. 3/28/12

Used again in Lap Time and PJ Story Time. 4/23/13

Used at Eggstravaganza. 4/4/15

Used at PJ for younger kids and used again at Lap Time. Went over okay.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son really enjoys this book. Aimed at “very young readers” as per the cover, however at aged seven he’s confidently reading the large printed words and enjoying the lift the flap novelty of this sweet story.

[Jacinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son is interested in animals and their noises as well as saying "Oh dear!" quite a lot - this book seemed a match made in heaven. Sure enough he recognised some of the animals and made their sounds. I improvised a bit of the telling of the story adding words here and there which the book gives room to do. Overall the book was enjoyed by us both.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hit with lap and toddler story times, with the repeated "Oh dear!" and flaps.

[Oshaun]

The Book Oh Dear! is written by Rod Campbell, the same author of Dear Zoo. This book is about farm animals and a set routine of how the day is on the farm (takes place on a farm). This book can be used to show children where each animal lives on the farm, to describe animals, to understand where we get eggs from and understand farm animals. This book can support children’s fine motor skills when turning the page, children’s personal, social, and emotional development by telling their peers about their favourite animals or what they liked/disliked about the story (socialisation), understanding of the world and maths. This book can be reacted so that the children are able to understand that Buster (the boy in the story) had to go on a search to find eggs but on his search found other farmyard animals, and to support this child can write a recount to share what happened when visiting each farm animal.

[Lizzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Serious error with the rabbit- Author Rod has mixed up rabbits and mice. Rabbits do not Squeak. They snuffle, grunt, grind their teeth, sometimes chunter but they never squeak. They scream sometimes, if very badly hurt or frightened, but not sure Buster would warrant that reaction. Not finding eggs at the duck pond is misleading- ducks DO in fact lay eggs. Judging from the chicks, it looks like if Buster had tried this a few weeks ago he's have struck gold. I really miss the whiskers on the cat and rabbit, rod never draws whiskers. The dog is very fat!

[Hiba Yuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve read this! I should be sick of it by now, but fortunately not. We read this now after quite a long gap.
This was a firm favorite when he was 1 and he learned to say “Oh dear” back then, whenever something made him sad!
I think he learned his first animal sounds from this as well.

[Nightshade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jan 2024 - I remember reading this one as a child and it was good fun. It is very enjoyable to read with a kid, getting them to guess the different animals. The repeating phrase will quickly have them copying along with the words.
I didn't get bored even after many re-reads, so that's a good point for the adults reading this with their kids.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cute story that my 18 month old loves. She wants this read to her over and over again. She enjoys any book where she can lift the flaps, but this one has the added bonus of discovering farmyard animals so we can make lots of noises, which she really enjoys joining in with.

[Jena Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Buster clearly doesn't visit grandma often if he can't remember what animal lays eggs. Good thing she let him wander all over the whole farm. Toddler loves it, especially the flap with the "horse butt."

[Marc Sebastian Head · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute addition to my son's bookcase! Cute illustrations, a bit of child-friendly repetition, and LOTS of flaps - sometimes flaps within flaps! - which is always popular. And you get to practice some farm animals and their noises along the way. Fun!

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have preferred the words 'no eggs here' to be hidden too. I think I remember this from my childhood!

[Sarah Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lift the flap book with animal noises? A good time.

[Seetha Ravindran · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful book for the children!

[Malvika Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was nothing cuter than my 2 year old used to turn the pages and say 'Oh Dear!'

[Lex Redding · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun lift the flap book.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to toddlers. Eventually, one kiddo started repeating "Oh dear!" It was cute.

[Tsana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story telling time with Amelia xx

[Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another current favourite. I’ve had lots of new books for Christmas but still only want to read this.

Stanley (10 months)

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only loses a star because it doesn’t sound so good when read by someone with a Welsh accent (similar to Matt. 11:15...)

[Peter Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Child is way to young to be left to wander a farm.

[Sarah Hills · Rating 3 out of 5]

B used to say oh dear or oh no a lot when he was quite small. This gave him a chance to join in reading this book, but otherwise nothing stands out.

[Poppy Thorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent Rob Campbell book, and this one with lots of our favourite farm animals in it! Sophia is already a huge fan and I can tell we will be reading it a lot!

[Nikki Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buster is on a mission to find the eggs on the farm for Grandma, meeting all the animals along the way. Nice and repetitive and just a cute humble read.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moral of the story: never trust anyone named "Buster"

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so fun because of the drawings

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was actually awful?? It doesn’t even tell you what the animal is

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Buster is a bit of a thick.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written but the protagonist was irritating. Who looks for eggs in a kennel.