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Oh No!
Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World
It's a terrible thing when a giant robot starts destroying your city.
It's even worse when it's your fault.
It's even worse when it's your fault.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2010
4 people are currently reading
849 people want to read
About the author
Mac Barnett
92 books1,339 followersBorn to non-farmers in a California farming community, Mac Barnett now lives near San Francisco. He's on the board of directors of 826LA, a nonprofit writing center for students in Los Angeles, and he founded the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 317 reviews
June 12, 2010
I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with a name for this new breed of children's book author/illustrator we're seeing these days. It's a genre without a name. We're seeing a lot of picture books these days that engage kids, but also turn on their heads classic picture book forms. It started with books like The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and now includes titles like Pssst or The Purple Kangaroo or Guess Again. Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World) is just the latest addition to a fast growing genre hereby dubbed Juvie Satire, and it is the creation of two of the genre's kings. Author Mac Barnett burst on the children's literary scene running as fast as his legs could take him, and illustrator Dan Santat glides right along side him, painting every dog, cat, and chicken that happens to cross his path. Alone, they are impressive. Combined, they may well be either unstoppable or too wacked out for the average child's mind to handle. Let's hope for the former.
We enter this story midway through the action. As our heroine says, "Oh no . . . oh, man . . . I knew it." Next thing we know she's facing the retreating back of a mechanical wonder on the rampage. Says she, "I never should have built a robot for the science fair." Flashback to her winning the top prize at the science fair, just as her creation bursts through the gym wall to cause a little mass destruction. Feeling just a twinge guilty about the whole thing (and unable to stop her robot herself), our heroine returns home and turns a small toad into a robot fighting monstrosity. This goes well, the robot is destroyed, and the mayor of the city is very pleased with the solution . . . that is, until the toad takes off after seeing a tasty airplane fly by.
I once interviewed Mr. Barnett about his writing and he had some interesting things to say on the subject of kids and their remarkable inability to feel bad about massive foibles. In terms of this book Mr. Barnett said, "I wanted to write about a very particular kind of regret that only children can feel: a regret that is sincere but also usually less acute than the situation warrants. I'm thinking particularly of an episode at 826LA, a nonprofit writing center I used to run. I walked into the bathroom to find a kid who'd flushed many paper towels down a toilet and wrecked a 100-year-old plumbing system. He was standing in an inch of (thankfully clean) water, and he smiled sheepishly, apologized, and went back to the writing lab to finish his homework. It was a small step from that bathroom to ruined major metropolitan area, from the scatological the eschatological."
Not that this book would have necessarily worked without illustrator Dan Santat. If you've seen Dan Santat's work before it might be because he illustrated Tammi Sauer's Chicken Dance, Anne Isaac's The Ghosts of Luckless Gulch, or The Secret Life of Walter Kitty by Barbara Jean Hicks. His art is best when he's allowed a certain amount of freedom to get creative. When he can draw upon his influences, that's when his style is at its most insane. So really, pairing him with Mac Barnett was nothing short of inevitable. These two guys seem to feed off of one another's styles and the result is nothing short of controlled chaos.
Santat created this art through Photoshop. You might not pick up on this immediately but there are hints. To make this book read more like a Japanese monster film the images here often have a faded, grainy quality to them. A thin white line will sometimes run down the image, like a flaw on a piece of film. You can practically hear the whirl of the projector on some of these scenes, as if you were sitting in a darkened theater watching a toad attack a robot. I feel as if there's a small tip of the hat to the Manga style of drawing as well. When that toad kicks the robot, the style is very distinctive. Not overtly so, but some people will note the reference.
On top of that are the millions of details Santat has included for your reading pleasure. The names of the other science projects (example: "Cat Diet: Why Is My Cat So Obese?"), the fact that the gym the robot escapes from contains the words, "Home of the Fighting Jackalopes", or the small "Wet Paint" sign on the newly repaired wall (destroyed yet again by our heroine's second creation). Even the dogs wearing their cardboard boxes and aluminum foil headpieces look like escapees from the Flight of the Conchords song "The Humans Are Dead". The craziest detail, though? Santat takes the time to occasionally draw in a hair. The kind that might get stuck on a frame of a film. It's small and oblique and in the upper right hand corner of one of the pictures. Now THAT is dedication, folks. It eventually gets to the point where you're convinced that the book is chock full of in-jokes that you are not a part of. I found myself several times wondering things like, "Why is the license plate on that car 2BZK131?" or "Why does that bus read 1975 DOWNTOWN?" We may never know the answers.
I'm a librarian. I see the world through a librarian lens, particularly books for kids. With that in mind, I am simultaneously thrilled and saddened by the endpapers on this book. In the event that you purchase it or see it in a bookstore, take off the cover. Holding the cover up so that it has its front to you, you'll see that you are looking at a single scene, complete with fleeing author and illustrator. Of course, our heroine's glasses are reflecting both a giant toad and a giant robot while that same robot rampages behind her, so it doesn't really work as a single picture. Still and all, you'll forget that fact if you turn the cover around and see that the book now looks like a movie poster from a Japanese monster film. Word on the street has it that Mr. Santat wanted to subtitle the entire book in Japanese, but the publisher balked at this being too weird an idea. Still, there's a fair amount of Japanese wordplay in this book. So much so, that Dan credits Antoine Revoy for the Japanese translations. As a librarian I know that a lot of systems glue down their covers after covering them in plastic. So Mr. Santat's hard work on the inside cover will probably never see the light of day for a lot of folks coming to this book for the first time. Pity.
Will kids like it? First off, reading it aloud in storytime probably isn't going to fly. I say this because the book works more like a graphic novel in sections than a picture book (see: the Manga reference). But while it may not be the kind of thing you'd want to engage a group with, when it comes to one-on-one reading it's a lot of fun. A kid snuggled with a parent is going to be able to interpret what is happening from one panel to the next and draw connections. I might try reading it to a class of 2nd graders I know, just to see if they like it, but even if I do that they're going to miss a lot of the details hidden in here.
Once in a while I'll get a kid in my library that wants a picture book starring a fireman or a spaceship or, best of all, robots. I had one of those the other day. And sure, I pulled out some of the Otto books and maybe Robot Dreams if I felt he could handle it, but I know what he really wanted. He wanted this book. He didn't know that he wanted it yet, but if I'd shown him this cover and read him the title his little sticky fingers would have reached for it on some kind of innate instinct. Adults will gravitate towards it because it is hip. Kids will want it because . . . well . . . to be frank because it involves a giant toad fighting a giant robot. And that's pretty much all you can say about that.
For ages 4-8.
We enter this story midway through the action. As our heroine says, "Oh no . . . oh, man . . . I knew it." Next thing we know she's facing the retreating back of a mechanical wonder on the rampage. Says she, "I never should have built a robot for the science fair." Flashback to her winning the top prize at the science fair, just as her creation bursts through the gym wall to cause a little mass destruction. Feeling just a twinge guilty about the whole thing (and unable to stop her robot herself), our heroine returns home and turns a small toad into a robot fighting monstrosity. This goes well, the robot is destroyed, and the mayor of the city is very pleased with the solution . . . that is, until the toad takes off after seeing a tasty airplane fly by.
I once interviewed Mr. Barnett about his writing and he had some interesting things to say on the subject of kids and their remarkable inability to feel bad about massive foibles. In terms of this book Mr. Barnett said, "I wanted to write about a very particular kind of regret that only children can feel: a regret that is sincere but also usually less acute than the situation warrants. I'm thinking particularly of an episode at 826LA, a nonprofit writing center I used to run. I walked into the bathroom to find a kid who'd flushed many paper towels down a toilet and wrecked a 100-year-old plumbing system. He was standing in an inch of (thankfully clean) water, and he smiled sheepishly, apologized, and went back to the writing lab to finish his homework. It was a small step from that bathroom to ruined major metropolitan area, from the scatological the eschatological."
Not that this book would have necessarily worked without illustrator Dan Santat. If you've seen Dan Santat's work before it might be because he illustrated Tammi Sauer's Chicken Dance, Anne Isaac's The Ghosts of Luckless Gulch, or The Secret Life of Walter Kitty by Barbara Jean Hicks. His art is best when he's allowed a certain amount of freedom to get creative. When he can draw upon his influences, that's when his style is at its most insane. So really, pairing him with Mac Barnett was nothing short of inevitable. These two guys seem to feed off of one another's styles and the result is nothing short of controlled chaos.
Santat created this art through Photoshop. You might not pick up on this immediately but there are hints. To make this book read more like a Japanese monster film the images here often have a faded, grainy quality to them. A thin white line will sometimes run down the image, like a flaw on a piece of film. You can practically hear the whirl of the projector on some of these scenes, as if you were sitting in a darkened theater watching a toad attack a robot. I feel as if there's a small tip of the hat to the Manga style of drawing as well. When that toad kicks the robot, the style is very distinctive. Not overtly so, but some people will note the reference.
On top of that are the millions of details Santat has included for your reading pleasure. The names of the other science projects (example: "Cat Diet: Why Is My Cat So Obese?"), the fact that the gym the robot escapes from contains the words, "Home of the Fighting Jackalopes", or the small "Wet Paint" sign on the newly repaired wall (destroyed yet again by our heroine's second creation). Even the dogs wearing their cardboard boxes and aluminum foil headpieces look like escapees from the Flight of the Conchords song "The Humans Are Dead". The craziest detail, though? Santat takes the time to occasionally draw in a hair. The kind that might get stuck on a frame of a film. It's small and oblique and in the upper right hand corner of one of the pictures. Now THAT is dedication, folks. It eventually gets to the point where you're convinced that the book is chock full of in-jokes that you are not a part of. I found myself several times wondering things like, "Why is the license plate on that car 2BZK131?" or "Why does that bus read 1975 DOWNTOWN?" We may never know the answers.
I'm a librarian. I see the world through a librarian lens, particularly books for kids. With that in mind, I am simultaneously thrilled and saddened by the endpapers on this book. In the event that you purchase it or see it in a bookstore, take off the cover. Holding the cover up so that it has its front to you, you'll see that you are looking at a single scene, complete with fleeing author and illustrator. Of course, our heroine's glasses are reflecting both a giant toad and a giant robot while that same robot rampages behind her, so it doesn't really work as a single picture. Still and all, you'll forget that fact if you turn the cover around and see that the book now looks like a movie poster from a Japanese monster film. Word on the street has it that Mr. Santat wanted to subtitle the entire book in Japanese, but the publisher balked at this being too weird an idea. Still, there's a fair amount of Japanese wordplay in this book. So much so, that Dan credits Antoine Revoy for the Japanese translations. As a librarian I know that a lot of systems glue down their covers after covering them in plastic. So Mr. Santat's hard work on the inside cover will probably never see the light of day for a lot of folks coming to this book for the first time. Pity.
Will kids like it? First off, reading it aloud in storytime probably isn't going to fly. I say this because the book works more like a graphic novel in sections than a picture book (see: the Manga reference). But while it may not be the kind of thing you'd want to engage a group with, when it comes to one-on-one reading it's a lot of fun. A kid snuggled with a parent is going to be able to interpret what is happening from one panel to the next and draw connections. I might try reading it to a class of 2nd graders I know, just to see if they like it, but even if I do that they're going to miss a lot of the details hidden in here.
Once in a while I'll get a kid in my library that wants a picture book starring a fireman or a spaceship or, best of all, robots. I had one of those the other day. And sure, I pulled out some of the Otto books and maybe Robot Dreams if I felt he could handle it, but I know what he really wanted. He wanted this book. He didn't know that he wanted it yet, but if I'd shown him this cover and read him the title his little sticky fingers would have reached for it on some kind of innate instinct. Adults will gravitate towards it because it is hip. Kids will want it because . . . well . . . to be frank because it involves a giant toad fighting a giant robot. And that's pretty much all you can say about that.
For ages 4-8.
August 14, 2010
I was handed this book by a library page, who said he had to show it to someone, because it is an "awesome book." And he was right.
It's about a girl's science fair project. She starts off narrating, "I never should have built a robot for the science fair. Everything was going so well... until the rampage started, that is. I probably shouldn't have given it a superclaw, or a laser eye, or the power to control dogs' minds."
No, no she shouldn't have:
[image error]
That's just EVIL!!!
For fans of cheesy SF and Japanese monster movies. You know who you are!
AWESOME!!!
It's about a girl's science fair project. She starts off narrating, "I never should have built a robot for the science fair. Everything was going so well... until the rampage started, that is. I probably shouldn't have given it a superclaw, or a laser eye, or the power to control dogs' minds."
No, no she shouldn't have:
[image error]
That's just EVIL!!!
For fans of cheesy SF and Japanese monster movies. You know who you are!
AWESOME!!!
February 15, 2012
Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World) is the story of a young girl whose science project (a giant robot) wins first prize at the science fair and is admired by everyone...until it escapes the school gym and starts terrorizing the city. She realizes how big her problem is (in more ways than one) when she remembers that she didn't give the robot ears to hear, or the ability to read, or the ability to feel pain, all of which are incredibly important if one is trying to stop a giant robot with laser eyes from destroying everything! To stop her robot, the little girl creates a giant robotic frog who does manage to save the day...until it goes on a terrorizing spree and the cycle starts all over again.
This book, published by Disney Hyperion Books, is very reminiscent of Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles , both in the story and illustration style used. The color illustrations are a cross between a graphic novel and a 1950s cartoon with their cartoon quality and antiqued colors. The book is larger than a typical picture book and thus provides a larger canvas for illustrations. The illustrator, Dan Santat, created the animated Disney series, The Replacements , so it is clear that the book has strong ties to the Disney company and that such links to The Incredibles may be intentional.
Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World) has few words and relies mostly on its pictures to tell the story, which is what gives it its graphic novel feel. The book is well suited for a read aloud with younger students (grades pre-K through 1st), particularly because the story is so simple. Older students would probably be a little bored with the story, especially if they are familiar with the Incredibles story.
This book, published by Disney Hyperion Books, is very reminiscent of Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles , both in the story and illustration style used. The color illustrations are a cross between a graphic novel and a 1950s cartoon with their cartoon quality and antiqued colors. The book is larger than a typical picture book and thus provides a larger canvas for illustrations. The illustrator, Dan Santat, created the animated Disney series, The Replacements , so it is clear that the book has strong ties to the Disney company and that such links to The Incredibles may be intentional.
Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World) has few words and relies mostly on its pictures to tell the story, which is what gives it its graphic novel feel. The book is well suited for a read aloud with younger students (grades pre-K through 1st), particularly because the story is so simple. Older students would probably be a little bored with the story, especially if they are familiar with the Incredibles story.
March 2, 2019
From the prickly pen of Mac Barnett - creator of such surreally amusing picture-book adventures as
Guess Again!
and
Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem
- comes this tale of a science project gone terribly wrong. "I never should have built a robot for the science fair," opines the young narrator of Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World, watching as her creation breaks loose and begins wreaking havoc on her city. Her solution to the crisis - the creation of a gigantic frog to combat the robot - turns out (perhaps not surprisingly) to be somewhat problematic as well...
Give my enthusiastic response to other Barnett books, I really expected to enjoy this one more than I did. It was amusing, of course, and I espied and appreciated its references to disaster SF movies, particularly Japanese monster films, but somehow I just wasn't as entertained as I'd hoped to be. I think that Dan Santat's photoshopped illustrations, although undoubtedly creative, just didn't do it for me - certainly, I would have to say that I prefer the artwork of Adam Rex, who collaborated with Barnett on the two titles mentioned above - and there simply wasn't enough text to involve me, sans image. Still, tastes vary, and most other readers seem to have loved this one, so I'd still recommend giving it a try.
Give my enthusiastic response to other Barnett books, I really expected to enjoy this one more than I did. It was amusing, of course, and I espied and appreciated its references to disaster SF movies, particularly Japanese monster films, but somehow I just wasn't as entertained as I'd hoped to be. I think that Dan Santat's photoshopped illustrations, although undoubtedly creative, just didn't do it for me - certainly, I would have to say that I prefer the artwork of Adam Rex, who collaborated with Barnett on the two titles mentioned above - and there simply wasn't enough text to involve me, sans image. Still, tastes vary, and most other readers seem to have loved this one, so I'd still recommend giving it a try.
December 11, 2010
Well this one, much to my surprise, was not my cup of tea.
I did like that it’s a girl who’s built this amazing (although certainly problematic) science project for the science fair. I did like the humor; it is a very amusing premise and much of the story is likely to appeal to kids’ funny bones.
I didn’t much like the art style. The illustrations just didn’t do it for me, but I can understand why others like them.
There aren’t that many words but there is some advanced vocabulary, especially at the plans for the robot, so while this could make an okay read aloud book, I’d say this book would be better enjoyed by independent readers to read to themselves.
Maybe if I had been in a different mood I’d have enjoyed it more.
I did like that it’s a girl who’s built this amazing (although certainly problematic) science project for the science fair. I did like the humor; it is a very amusing premise and much of the story is likely to appeal to kids’ funny bones.
I didn’t much like the art style. The illustrations just didn’t do it for me, but I can understand why others like them.
There aren’t that many words but there is some advanced vocabulary, especially at the plans for the robot, so while this could make an okay read aloud book, I’d say this book would be better enjoyed by independent readers to read to themselves.
Maybe if I had been in a different mood I’d have enjoyed it more.
February 21, 2015
This science fiction picture book is about a young girl who creates a robot for her science project. Unfortunate events lead to the robot going loose on the city and creating havoc. The little girl keeps repeating phrases like, "I probably shouldn't have..." She tries numerous ways to stop the robot, but to no avail. Eventually, she devises the idea of creating a giant toad that will stop the robot, but instead ends up repeating the cycle.
This story was complex, yet the words in the story were very simple and brief. The reader really has to rely on the illustrations to make inferences and fill in the gaps of the story. Luckily, the illustrations were vivid, colorful and interesting to follow. It did fit the criteria of planting clues and inviting the reader to predict what will happen next. I did feel that there was a quality of good science fiction that was missing in this book. Our textbook states that, "The best works of science fiction, then, are those that draw believable characters". The characters seemed undeveloped and somewhat one-dimensional. This could be due to the fact that I am coming from the mindset of an adult, but I felt that some further development would have led to a more interesting story to match the wonderful illustrations. Despite this, I liked the science fiction nature of this book that we don't see as often for very young readers. I would likely use this in a kindergarten or first grade classroom to introduce the genre and spark discussion.
This story was complex, yet the words in the story were very simple and brief. The reader really has to rely on the illustrations to make inferences and fill in the gaps of the story. Luckily, the illustrations were vivid, colorful and interesting to follow. It did fit the criteria of planting clues and inviting the reader to predict what will happen next. I did feel that there was a quality of good science fiction that was missing in this book. Our textbook states that, "The best works of science fiction, then, are those that draw believable characters". The characters seemed undeveloped and somewhat one-dimensional. This could be due to the fact that I am coming from the mindset of an adult, but I felt that some further development would have led to a more interesting story to match the wonderful illustrations. Despite this, I liked the science fiction nature of this book that we don't see as often for very young readers. I would likely use this in a kindergarten or first grade classroom to introduce the genre and spark discussion.
May 22, 2020
Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World is a story of a little girl who creates a robot for her science project that gets loose and starts destroying the city. She must figure out a way to stop him. I thought this book was cute and short. The illustrations were wonderfully done. I found this book at https://goldenduckawards.org/. This book won the Golden Duck Award for Picture Books in 2011. I listened to this story on YouTube. There are quite a few options but some of the readers were just hard to listen too. I listened to a lady reading it outside. Once the blowing wind gets passed it was easy to listen and understand. I would recommend this book for children between the ages of 4-8.
January 3, 2020
Love the wide and eclectic range of books Mac Barnett has written - loads of fun!
November 8, 2020
I accessed this Kirkus review book through a read-aloud on youtube. I do not mind consuming picture books through a read-aloud on youtube as long as the reader shows the illustrations and text of the book (which this one did).
From the beginning Oh No! Throws the reader right into the midst of an unfolding disaster. A young girls' science project robot has gone crazy and is in the process of destroying the world. The little girl frantically tries to stop the robot as she regrets not giving him the sense of pain, the skill to be able to read, or ear so the robot could have the ability to listen. Instead, she regretfully gave the robot a super-claw and laser beams. Finally, the girl sends her giant toad to attack to defeat the robot (which it successfully does).
This fantasy picture book combines text and illustrations full of outlandish characters and situations in order to engage the reader in the little girl's problem-solving attempts to stop the robot from destroying the world. Readers will enjoy the dramatic yet cartoonish illustrations that cover every single page, as well as the comic book type text features.
This book is appropriate for young readers in the 3rd grade and below. Readers will be able to draw comprehension from an understanding of the problems that the story presents as well as the main character's attempts to solve the problems. Readers will be able to analyze the character's attempted solution and also identify the reasons for why that solution did or did not work.
From the beginning Oh No! Throws the reader right into the midst of an unfolding disaster. A young girls' science project robot has gone crazy and is in the process of destroying the world. The little girl frantically tries to stop the robot as she regrets not giving him the sense of pain, the skill to be able to read, or ear so the robot could have the ability to listen. Instead, she regretfully gave the robot a super-claw and laser beams. Finally, the girl sends her giant toad to attack to defeat the robot (which it successfully does).
This fantasy picture book combines text and illustrations full of outlandish characters and situations in order to engage the reader in the little girl's problem-solving attempts to stop the robot from destroying the world. Readers will enjoy the dramatic yet cartoonish illustrations that cover every single page, as well as the comic book type text features.
This book is appropriate for young readers in the 3rd grade and below. Readers will be able to draw comprehension from an understanding of the problems that the story presents as well as the main character's attempts to solve the problems. Readers will be able to analyze the character's attempted solution and also identify the reasons for why that solution did or did not work.
August 25, 2012
I added Oh No! to our reading list after:
1) seeing that so many of my Goodreads friends have read this.
2) seeing that it pertained to a girl doing a science project.
3) seeing that it sort of had a graphic novel flavor.
My niece loves science, and I want to encourage that, so if we have books about a science fair project going haywire, so much the better. Sometimes our scientific endeavors get away from us, after all, and a little fun mayhem never hurts in a story. My niece also likes graphic novels, so I was pretty sure she was going to like this one, and she did. It was just completely her cup of tea.
What I did not know was my nephew was also going to love this book! It had a crazy robot destroying a city! That is little boy heaven, right there!
We do our reading in the car while we wait at the bus stop for their mother. Those kids were practically crawling over the back of the front seats in order to get their noses closer to this book. They wedged each other between the two bucket seats, and I had to unstick them! I thought the book was fine, cute for what it was, but I didn't adore it (certainly not enough to get myself wedged into a tight space in order to get closer to the book). The kids did have a lot of fun with this, though, and that is good enough for me.
1) seeing that so many of my Goodreads friends have read this.
2) seeing that it pertained to a girl doing a science project.
3) seeing that it sort of had a graphic novel flavor.
My niece loves science, and I want to encourage that, so if we have books about a science fair project going haywire, so much the better. Sometimes our scientific endeavors get away from us, after all, and a little fun mayhem never hurts in a story. My niece also likes graphic novels, so I was pretty sure she was going to like this one, and she did. It was just completely her cup of tea.
What I did not know was my nephew was also going to love this book! It had a crazy robot destroying a city! That is little boy heaven, right there!
We do our reading in the car while we wait at the bus stop for their mother. Those kids were practically crawling over the back of the front seats in order to get their noses closer to this book. They wedged each other between the two bucket seats, and I had to unstick them! I thought the book was fine, cute for what it was, but I didn't adore it (certainly not enough to get myself wedged into a tight space in order to get closer to the book). The kids did have a lot of fun with this, though, and that is good enough for me.
July 9, 2010
It all started when a smart girl builds a giant robot as a science project. When it goes on a rampage, she realizes all of the features that she should have included and ones that it definitely should not have, like the laser eye. She also realizes that it is up to her to stop it. She tries to communicate with it, but when that and hitting it fail, she comes up with another solution. She builds a gigantic toad programmed to destroy the robot. And it works! Now just to solve the problem of what can stop a giant toad…
Riotously funny, this book is a brilliant tribute to the monster flicks of the 1950s. Barnett’s dry, understated text heightens the drama and action of the story. Santat’s illustrations pay homage to vintage comics in the colors and stylings, but remain firmly modern too. The illustrations are worth lingering over, especially the many and varied signs shown throughout the city, some in Chinese letters, strengthening that tie to monster movies.
This is a picture book worth sharing with a wide range of ages, even young teens who may have seen some of the type of movies this book references. Happily cheesy, wonderfully funny, this book is extraordinary.
Riotously funny, this book is a brilliant tribute to the monster flicks of the 1950s. Barnett’s dry, understated text heightens the drama and action of the story. Santat’s illustrations pay homage to vintage comics in the colors and stylings, but remain firmly modern too. The illustrations are worth lingering over, especially the many and varied signs shown throughout the city, some in Chinese letters, strengthening that tie to monster movies.
This is a picture book worth sharing with a wide range of ages, even young teens who may have seen some of the type of movies this book references. Happily cheesy, wonderfully funny, this book is extraordinary.
July 14, 2010
Oh my goodness, I love this book and so will my students.
March 4, 2011
Everything was going so well... Until the rampage started
February 20, 2018
“Oh no…Oh man...I knew it.” This is how the science fiction picture book Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed The World) began when the main character won her science fair with the robot she made. The only problem is that after she wins, the robot gets loose and begins to destroy the city. Feeling responsible for the destruction, the girl tries many different things to stop the robot. In the end, she was successful at stopping it, but with unintended consequences… “Oh no...Oh man...I knew it.”
This book is told primarily through illustrations with sparse text narrated through the girl’s point of view. Dan Santat’s created the engaging illustrations in this book using Photoshop and they give the book a movie-like feel. The illustrations and text in this science fiction book allow readers to easily follow the plot line of this book. Since the book takes place in a modern day real world city, the reader would be able to connect to this and imagine the destruction that a robot could cause if it got loose in a city.
Although this book is mostly illustrations, the text requires students to have an understanding of cause and effect to understand the issues with the design of the robot that are causing the destruction and preventing the girl from stopping the robot. Although students in K-3 would enjoy this book, it would be more deeply comprehended by students in this grade band who have understanding of cause and effect.
This book is told primarily through illustrations with sparse text narrated through the girl’s point of view. Dan Santat’s created the engaging illustrations in this book using Photoshop and they give the book a movie-like feel. The illustrations and text in this science fiction book allow readers to easily follow the plot line of this book. Since the book takes place in a modern day real world city, the reader would be able to connect to this and imagine the destruction that a robot could cause if it got loose in a city.
Although this book is mostly illustrations, the text requires students to have an understanding of cause and effect to understand the issues with the design of the robot that are causing the destruction and preventing the girl from stopping the robot. Although students in K-3 would enjoy this book, it would be more deeply comprehended by students in this grade band who have understanding of cause and effect.
February 27, 2020
Oh No! By Mac Barnett is a fantasy picture book of a young girl and her science experiment. She creates a robot in hopes of winning the science fair and the robot starts to destroy the entire town. Her solution is to make another "Frog" robot to stop this other robot. Once the old robot is taken out the Frog then escapes and is now on the run.
I feel that this would be a fun read for children because of the images and the graphic novel appeal.
The most interesting part of this story is that there is a female character who is a scientist and creates the robot. It is nice for young girls to see they can also be inventors.
I feel that this would be a fun read for children because of the images and the graphic novel appeal.
The most interesting part of this story is that there is a female character who is a scientist and creates the robot. It is nice for young girls to see they can also be inventors.
February 12, 2018
What could go wrong with a robotic science project that has a claw and a laser eye, but no ears to hear it's creator's commands? Young readers will giggle their way through this simple book as the hero uses her scientific know-how to find a solution only to realize she has created an even bigger problem!
September 9, 2020
Published June, 2020
My favorite part of the book included all of the illustrations to tell the majority of the story. However, I think the book could have had more narrative. I do think I could use this book in my future classroom for students to read when things are not going their way or have an interest in robots and science.
My favorite part of the book included all of the illustrations to tell the majority of the story. However, I think the book could have had more narrative. I do think I could use this book in my future classroom for students to read when things are not going their way or have an interest in robots and science.
November 11, 2020
Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World, by Mac Bennet is a fun and engaging science fiction picture book for young readers. It is a cute story about a girl’s robot science project gone wrong. After the robot begins to destroy the town, its creator tries to reel it in, only to discover that she did not give it the ability to recognize certain forms of command. The young scientist then thinks of another way to stop the robot, but discovers in the end that this idea will likely end up being a problem as well.
The book includes large, graphic pictures that successfully serve to help increase the reader’s sense of the enormity of the robot’s rampage. In addition, the illustrator does a great job of capturing the girl’s emotions, with telling facial expressions. Further, there are very few, but well-chosen words that also describe the situation on each page. The language is easy to comprehend and does a great job of capturing the protagonist’s sense of regret and fury to get the robot back under her control. On the first few pages, she simply, but powerfully declares, “Oh no… Oh man… I knew it! I never should have built a robot for the science fair.”
Lovers of science fiction will be delighted by the sight and capabilities of the robot, and totally invested in the storyline by the time the young scientist finally figures out what appears to be the solution to stopping the robot. They will also enjoy the use of their imaginations that is created by the suspense at the end.
I discovered this book by reading another classmate’s review of it on the Good Read’s website. I then looked for more information about it and learned that it had received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publisher’s weekly. It also won a Golden Duck Award in 2010. I was able to access it via a read aloud on You Tube. The quality of the video was good and I had no trouble seeing the illustrations closely, or the text. I would recommend this book for students in grades K-4. In addition to being part of a classroom library, it would be a fun read aloud. I think this book would appeal to students of any background, but would likely be most fascinating to those who are into the exploration of science-related things.
The book includes large, graphic pictures that successfully serve to help increase the reader’s sense of the enormity of the robot’s rampage. In addition, the illustrator does a great job of capturing the girl’s emotions, with telling facial expressions. Further, there are very few, but well-chosen words that also describe the situation on each page. The language is easy to comprehend and does a great job of capturing the protagonist’s sense of regret and fury to get the robot back under her control. On the first few pages, she simply, but powerfully declares, “Oh no… Oh man… I knew it! I never should have built a robot for the science fair.”
Lovers of science fiction will be delighted by the sight and capabilities of the robot, and totally invested in the storyline by the time the young scientist finally figures out what appears to be the solution to stopping the robot. They will also enjoy the use of their imaginations that is created by the suspense at the end.
I discovered this book by reading another classmate’s review of it on the Good Read’s website. I then looked for more information about it and learned that it had received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publisher’s weekly. It also won a Golden Duck Award in 2010. I was able to access it via a read aloud on You Tube. The quality of the video was good and I had no trouble seeing the illustrations closely, or the text. I would recommend this book for students in grades K-4. In addition to being part of a classroom library, it would be a fun read aloud. I think this book would appeal to students of any background, but would likely be most fascinating to those who are into the exploration of science-related things.
February 14, 2012
OH NO! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed The World) by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Dan Santat. In this movie like, graphic novel like, picture book, a nameless pigtailed girl wins her science fair and is in for some trouble. With the speech bubbles in the beginning, “Oh no”, “Oh man…”, “I knew it” and the dark shadow looming over the city as the pigtailed girl walks down a destroyed street, you can’t help but to turn the page to find out what happens. As the story unfolds the nameless girl begins to tell her story “Everything was going so well….until the rampage started, that is.” As she tries to control her robot she thinks that she probably shouldn’t have given it a superclaw or a laser eye. As she is yelling, “Hey, robot! Knock it off already!” she realizes maybe I should have given it ears, then when she holds up a sign “Cut it out buster”, she realizes maybe I should have taught it to read. With nothing working she has an idea! She creates a giant toad monster to destroy the robot. While her idea works, we see the speech bubbles, “Oh no”, Oh man…” you just have to turn the page to find out the ending. A giant toad monster can’t create any havoc….can it?
A Kirkus starred review, recommends ages 4-10. From the robot blueprints on the inside cover, to the “Please Stand By” and Japanese subtitles, to the widescreen boarders, you can’t help but enjoy this science-fiction picture book. Barnett does a great job on this almost wordless picture book to keep you page turning with just the right amount of story on each page. Santat does an awesome job on the Photoshop created artwork with the movie like illustrations and the always seeming dark shadow looming over the city. This, I feel, would be a fun read-aloud text for the younger grades. It has been a long time since I have been in the classroom, but I will throw this idea out there…I also feel that this is a good mentor text to use with the older grades on how an author creates suspension for the readers. What does the author do with the words or how do the illustrations used also create suspense?
A Kirkus starred review, recommends ages 4-10. From the robot blueprints on the inside cover, to the “Please Stand By” and Japanese subtitles, to the widescreen boarders, you can’t help but enjoy this science-fiction picture book. Barnett does a great job on this almost wordless picture book to keep you page turning with just the right amount of story on each page. Santat does an awesome job on the Photoshop created artwork with the movie like illustrations and the always seeming dark shadow looming over the city. This, I feel, would be a fun read-aloud text for the younger grades. It has been a long time since I have been in the classroom, but I will throw this idea out there…I also feel that this is a good mentor text to use with the older grades on how an author creates suspension for the readers. What does the author do with the words or how do the illustrations used also create suspense?
February 15, 2012
This is a great book for all sorts of reasons. It’s a good read for a wide range of age levels, the intelligent star of the story is a clever GIRL, science fairs are portrayed as quite the cool thing, visually it’s a picture book, but really, this is a deluxe graphic novel and finally, it’s hilarious!
The author does not share the girl’s first name, but we do learn very quickly that her blue ribbon science fair project (a giant robot) is destroying the world! She tries everything in her power to stop it; yelling, hitting, writing it a note—but she realizes she didn’t give it ears, the sense of pain or the ability to read. It gets funnier. She programmed the robot to control dogs’ minds. To solve her rampant robot problem she runs home to her lab to create a giant toad. He indeed gets rid of the robot, but what can stop a giant toad?
Visually, this book is like a Japanese Godzilla movie. During the destruction pages all street signs are written in Japanese and the black edges of each page make it look like we’re watching a movie. Older kids and adults familiar with those movies will enjoy that part of the book.
This story can be read aloud to kindergarten students and even enjoyed by middle school students. Connections can be made to science, writing, reading and math. The bookends have great detailed illustrations on her two projects, with the back one representing the mathematical concepts behind her Growth Ray Device for the toad.
The author does not share the girl’s first name, but we do learn very quickly that her blue ribbon science fair project (a giant robot) is destroying the world! She tries everything in her power to stop it; yelling, hitting, writing it a note—but she realizes she didn’t give it ears, the sense of pain or the ability to read. It gets funnier. She programmed the robot to control dogs’ minds. To solve her rampant robot problem she runs home to her lab to create a giant toad. He indeed gets rid of the robot, but what can stop a giant toad?
Visually, this book is like a Japanese Godzilla movie. During the destruction pages all street signs are written in Japanese and the black edges of each page make it look like we’re watching a movie. Older kids and adults familiar with those movies will enjoy that part of the book.
This story can be read aloud to kindergarten students and even enjoyed by middle school students. Connections can be made to science, writing, reading and math. The bookends have great detailed illustrations on her two projects, with the back one representing the mathematical concepts behind her Growth Ray Device for the toad.
May 24, 2015
The picture book, “Oh No! or How My Science Project Destroyed the World”, by Mac Barnett with illustrations by Dan Santat fosters children's’ imagination and innovation to be creative. The picture book begins with an illustration of a city in disarray. Incorporated in the illustration are ironic signs posted on buildings with slogans like “invest in your future here.” The main character built a robot for her science fair who is now destroying the city. The main character tries to tame the robot, but realizes she didn't create the robot with ears or taught the robot how to read and even programed the robot to not feel pain. The main character decides in order to stop this destruction, she would have to built another robot. She goes home and creates an enormous toad robot. An interested reader will have to read on to see if the robots work together to destroy the world or if the toad stops the destruction. I would suggest this book to readers grades pre-school to second grade. This would be also be a great instructional tool in the classroom. The illustrations support the story as well as adding more entertainment for the reader. Along with the illustrations in the book, the inside cover of the book has blueprints of the robots. I thought this was another great addition to the book and I would highly suggest this book to interested readers.
July 17, 2010
Some kids are too smart for their own good ... and maybe for everybody else’s good. When an overambitious little girl builds a humongous robot for the science fair, she fully expects to win first place. What she doesn’t expect is the chaos that follows. Mac Barnett and illustrator Dan Santat combine forces to create a hilarious kid’s-eye account of the kind of destruction that can come only from a child’s good intentions. This book is sure to appeal to kids and parents familiar with the ordeal of science fairs. (Goodreads summary)
This hysterically funny book has wonderful details throughout.
The monsters battling aspect will be appreciated by those who remember Japanese monster movies. Continuing potential mayhem is suggsted at the end. May be more effective one on one, but I'd like to try it with a group. For grades 1-4 and all who enjoy over top funny picturebooks.
This hysterically funny book has wonderful details throughout.
The monsters battling aspect will be appreciated by those who remember Japanese monster movies. Continuing potential mayhem is suggsted at the end. May be more effective one on one, but I'd like to try it with a group. For grades 1-4 and all who enjoy over top funny picturebooks.
September 9, 2010
So... building a giant robot probably wasn't the best idea for a science fair project. Especially one that has no ears and can't read. (Hadn't anticipated the need for those things.) But, wait! Something else might work! Or...not. :/
Mac Barnett has an odd sort of brain. That's a good thing for picture book lovers who have odd sorts of brains themselves. They should all get their hands on this book. Funny stuff.
Mac Barnett has an odd sort of brain. That's a good thing for picture book lovers who have odd sorts of brains themselves. They should all get their hands on this book. Funny stuff.
March 18, 2020
I. Loved. This. Book. First, this book definitely fulfills my search for a sci fi picture book. Second, I loved that the boo began and ended with labeled illustrations and scientific information about the elements in the book. Third, I love that the book is almost like a mini-graphic novel. The illustrations bring the story to life. I cannot wait to share this with my students.
Read via IG Live by the author 3/17/20
Read via IG Live by the author 3/17/20
July 17, 2014
August 7, 2012
Brilliant concept with great art by Santat. I loved it from endpaper to endpaper, and was particularly fond of the other projects at the science fair (clever throw-aways).Only problem was, Tash and I agree, it wasn't long enough. We'd love to see a middle-grade novel with the mad scientist, our favorite since Lunch Walks Among Us.
***
July 11, 2014
Well, a sequel is good, too.
Library copy.
Brilliant concept with great art by Santat. I loved it from endpaper to endpaper, and was particularly fond of the other projects at the science fair (clever throw-aways).Only problem was, Tash and I agree, it wasn't long enough. We'd love to see a middle-grade novel with the mad scientist, our favorite since Lunch Walks Among Us.
***
July 11, 2014
Well, a sequel is good, too.
Library copy.
April 15, 2011
I tagged this one "graphic novel" because I could see it being a great one to hand to younger kids (or beginning readers, even) who like a comic book feel. Even though this truly isn't a comic book or a graphic novel, it has that vibe about it. Though the illustrations might fool you (it looks like it's for older kids), the story is simplistic enough for littler ones. Very enjoyable read!
August 18, 2012
This is an entertaining and humorous tale of a science project gone wrong. The book is a picture book with a graphic novel format; the narrative is short and sparse, but the illustrations are very colorful and detailed. It was a fun story to read aloud and we really enjoyed looking at all of the pictures.
June 19, 2013
This is a fun, dynamic, graphic-novel styled book that will appeal to kids and adult comic book fans. Lots of little in-jokes are peppered around in the illustrations, which reminded me of the "Invader Zim" series.
Things got a bit cringe-y for me when the little girl captured a frog, took him to her lab, and zapped him with a growth ray.
Things got a bit cringe-y for me when the little girl captured a frog, took him to her lab, and zapped him with a growth ray.
May 24, 2014
I'll admit that I saw this book when I was with my son to pick out books, and I wanted it. It's not big on text, and not much of a story, but it's a story told in pictures and short phrases about a little girl who built a giant robot for her science project. I think the size of this book along with the beautiful eye catching paintings make this book a very fun book for kids!
October 2, 2016
Dan Santat is one of my favorite children's illustrators. He's outdone himself here illustrating Mac Barnett's perfectly understated text oozing with science-fiction-y goodness and girl inventor power. "Everything was going so well... until the rampage started, that is." Fans of robots, comics, and monster movies should flat out buy this one. You can thank me later.
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