The Good for Nothing Button

Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! #3

by Charise Mericle Harper, Mo Willems

Yellow Bird has a button. It does . . . nothing! It is a good for nothing button. Red Bird and Blue Bird are excited to try the button. But when they press it, they discover that the button makes them happy. Happy is something! A flabbergasted Yellow Bird insists the button does nothing. But it sure does seem to be making him mad. Mad is something!
The hilarious debate that follows takes readers on an emotional roller coaster that pokes at the power of imaginative play.

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Childrens, Birds, Fiction, Animals, Emotion

64 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2017

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mo Willems has fostered a love of reading in the minds for many over the years. Now, there is a branch-off series full of the same emotion and easy to read words between the covers, with this one written by Charisse Mericle Harper. Yellow Bird has a wonderful new toy, a button that does nothing. That’s fine, until Red and Blue Bird find much joy in pressing this button, which is surely something. Poking fun at Yellow Bird for falsely advertising this button, they laugh and giggle when they press the button. This leaves Yellow Bird with a great deal of anger, yet another thing the button seems to do. So, this useless button serves a great purpose and helps to create an emotional rollercoaster for the young reader as they witness the evolution of this button’s importance. Neo is full of emotions and can go from one to the other in the blink of an eye. I have found that whatever his feelings, sitting down to a good book or two can regulate better than any time alone (for us both). I hope others will find this book and take the time to discover its wonders, sharing it with a young reader as well.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Press this button and nothing happens...or in the pressing of the button do you do something to those around you? This is the question this very engaging book looks at! Perhaps pushing the button helps others find a reason to do what they do. A very creative book that looks at social interaction. Fun with a very interesting group of questions

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: Hey, look! It's Yellow Bird. Hi, Yellow Bird. Look what I have. WOW! Wowee! Wow! Wow! I cannot believe it! What is it? It is a BUTTON. A red button. Red is my favorite! What does it do? NOTHING! Nothing?

Premise/plot: Gerald and Piggie are getting ready to read another book together: The Good for Nothing Button. (Elephant and Piggie star in the first few pages and the last few pages of this one.) Three birds (Yellow Bird, Blue Bird, Red Bird) try to decide what a button does--if anything. Will these three agree? Will they agree to disagree? Can they ever decide what qualifies as "something" and what qualifies as "nothing"? Will readers?!

My thoughts: I liked it. I really love Gerald and Piggie. I miss them so much. I do wish their series was continuing on. That being said, if I can't have a full early reader book starring my favorite friends, I suppose I'll make do with these teasing intros.

The text was satisfying, but, for me the illustrations were not. The dialogue worked for me--lots of bickering, lots of emotion. The speech bubbles kept the plot moving really quickly.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad Elephant & Piggie aren't completely gone, and that other voices are getting to join in the fun!! Adorable and funny! Could be great for tying to discussions on emotions.

[Åmîrö ghaderi (≡^∇^≡) · Rating 3 out of 5]

(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early readers are very hard to get right, so I am delighted that Mo Willems is using his popularity and familiarity to promote other writers. I have no idea if his involvement goes beyond the framing pages, but the concept works, not least because it makes one place in the library to find disparate authors creating fun books. Disney terrifies me with its enormity, but the books are amusing-at least the first time. Those who've had to read them aloud every day for months might fell differently.

Library copy

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My four-year-old LOVED this book and talks about it all the time. Of the books in the new Elephant and Piggie spin-off series, this is the most like the original Elephant and Piggie books by a long shot.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of the Elephant and Piggie Like Reading series, this early reader is a philosophical joy. Yellow Bird has a button that does absolutely nothing, or does it? He shows it to Red Bird and Blue Bird. When Blue Bird tries the button, it surprises him. And that’s not nothing! It doesn’t surprise Red Bird, which makes Blue Bird sad, also not nothing. Then Yellow Bird gets angry at their responses, which is also not nothing. Soon the button can make them do lots of things, even get funny and silly. Perhaps the button does everything?

Harper has created a wonderful mix of humor and philosophy in this early reader. Done with just the right jaunty humor and wild zaniness, the book moves at a fast pace towards its philosophical conclusion. The ties to Elephant and Piggie are clear and this feels like a natural extension of their humor and attitude, making it exactly the right kind of book for this series.

The illustrations are bright and simple. Done with similar speech bubbles to Elephant and Piggie, they convey the emotions of the birds clearly, something that is very important in this book in particular.

A zingy riot of an early reader, this one is a winner. Appropriate for ages 5-7.

[OnceUponALibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem. For fans of Elephant & Piggie. LOL for all ages.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this new reader! 😂

[Natalie Pietro · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids laughed so hard at this book. They were fighting over who got to hold this book so they would have a clear view of all the funny words and pictures. Much fun.

[Fatemesadat shahravesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

فقط یک نویسنده چیره‌دست می‌تواند از یک دکمه به درد نخور یک داستان به درد بخور بسازد و مخاطب را از خنده روده‌بر کند

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny plot, cute illustrations. Variety of emotions makes it fun to read out loud.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED! Silly but smart. Students learn about emotions, point of view, and managing frustration.

[Carrie Gelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Michele Knott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me giggle just like when I read Elephant and Piggie. Another winner for the new Elephant and Piggie Like Reading series.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the third offering in the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series, we meet three friends and their different reactions to a button. My words will not bring justice to how fun this book is. I can just picture how many giggling kids there will be when reading this!

[Eugene · Rating 5 out of 5]

A subtle satire of millennial pile-on culture, device addiction, and the panopticon inherent in the internet of things, this dense page turner is like a Black Mirror episode written by Samuel Beckett. Stars Red Bird, Yellow Bird, and Blue bird; introduced by Elephant and Piggie.

From the jacket copy: "Yellow Bird has a button. And it does . . . NOTHING! But when Red Bird and Blue Bird press the button. it does . . . SOMETHING!"

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a hoot! Fans of Elephant and Piggie will enjoy this humorous story of three birds who react over the pushing of a button--that does nothing...or does it? Introduced by none other than Elephant and Piggie, the story is enjoyed by them as well, and it leads Elephant into looking for his own button to push. Wonder where he will find one? Read and find out! A great book for early readers.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theodore Geisel Award Winner 2017

What a fun book! It's the second in the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading Series and it feels very much like a Mo Willems book. Great illustrations, fun story. I'm sure it will be a hit with young readers and it would make a great discussion for what kids think their SOMETHING-est is!

Highly recommend this one.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me, my son, and his entire kindergarten classroom loved this book! 3 birds find themselves alone with a red button that seemingly does nothing when they push it. However, why do their emotions change each time the button is pushed? With a great comedic voice, this author shoes kids how emotions may be more in their control than they realize.

[Aneesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant that this book is introduced by Elephant and Piggie, who are excited to read it, and closed by them.

Although 6yo had to sound out "noth-ing" every. single. time., I'm getting the gist of how these early readers go: Character says "Something." "Something?" "Yes, something." "Certainly not something." "Something!" In this case something was "noth-ing."

[Hilary Scroggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Existential stuff.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compare to the brilliance of "Not a Box". A great addition to the growing Elephant and Piggie Like Reading library.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It was OK. A good beginner/easy reader. Just not to the standard of E&P. In fact, the parts I liked best were the beginning and end with E&P. The grass book was better.

[Chantele Sedgwick]

This was pretty cute. My 5-year-old LOVED it!

[Mim_farahani · Rating 5 out of 5]

عنوان فارسی : دکمه به درد بخور/ نخور

عالی بود این کتاب! هم بامزه بود هم قابلیت خلق فعالیت‌های مختلف‌ رو داشت!
به سرم زد تو خونموم یکی از این دکمه‌ها داشته باشیم :)

[Jenna Maggiolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing I noticed after reading this was there were no conjunction words. It is instead of it's. I cannot instead of I can't. That's because, at this level of reading, students don't know about the joining of two words.
The facial expressions in this book are very detailed and that is because kids at early reading levels can associate the facial expressions with the words. This book was about a button that had no meaning, it did nothing. But what three friends soon found out was that the button made them show their emotions. The button made Blue Bird Excited and surprised, it made Red Bird sad, then Happy. It made Yellow Bird happy, then mad, then funny. At the end of the story, all three friends were happy, and they all decided it was a button that made them feel happy.
The illustrations in this book were well done, bright colors, and the three main characters were the primary colors, three colors that early kids can point out. Also, the speech box of each character matched the color of their feathers, this will make knowing whos talking even easier for young readers, having the visual clue. Overall this was a very well done easy reader.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Charise Mericle Harper, I loved her monster book, The Monster Show written long ago, her Fashion Kitty series, and her latest Crafty Cat title which goes from one pair of eager hands to another. I loved doing crafts when I was little, and the kids still love to make crafts in library class. The Good for Nothing Button didn't come alive for me until I read it to our kindergartens. They notice everything slipped into the pictures, the expressions on Red, Blue, and Yellow bird, the action lines for animation, and how this little red button elicits such strong pure emotions, as they converse about their bird feelings. The tiny worm who comes out under the button at the beginning and the end thrilled the listeners. I think the act of pressing a button was most appealing as well. The Good for Nothing Button! is a hit because of it's simplicity, wonderful cartoons, and message of joy.

[Tori Rinkol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a yellow, red, and blue bird. The yellow bird finds a button that does nothing or so they think. They each take turns pressing the button, each time they press the button, they all feel differently about what happens. The yellow bird is convinced that it does absolutely nothing, but the red and yellow bird say differently. They say it gives them different kinds of emotions.

An activity that could be done with reading this book is to get a button or something the kids have to press down. First I would pick three kids to be the yellow, red, and blue birds to read the book again and have them act out the emotions the birds feel throughout the story. Then I would group the students into groups of three, and have them write down four emotions they feel when they press the button.

Willems, M., & Harper, C. M. (2017). The good for nothing button. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group.