Don't Push the Button Blog Tour- Author Guest Post and Book Review

Don't Push the Button
by Bill Cotter
Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Expected release date: Nov. 1, 2013
32 pages Hardcover
Genre: Fiction
Disclosure: I obtained a digital advanced copy of this picture book from netgalley.com. 

Summary
Larry the adorable monster is the character in this book.  Larry's book has one rule for the reader, don't push the button.  Of course breaking that rule is just too tempting.  Soon Larry invites the reader to push the button quickly when "no one is looking".  After the button is pushed, Larry changes in some very fun ways. 

My Thoughts
Don't Push the Button is a simple and really fun interactive picture book. After the reader pushes the button on the page Larry turns yellow or polka-dotted. Then he multiplies and the reader is asked to shake the book to make the extra Larrys go away.  
Little kids will love this book. Although the publisher lists Don't Push the Button for ages 4-8, I think it would appeal more to ages 2-7.   It has simplistic text with fun, colorful pictures.  I can just see kids asking to read it again and again and getting super-excited every time.  

Author Guest Post
I would like to thank Bill Cotter for offering to write a guest post. Read below to see how Bill's students helped him write Don't Push the Button. 

My favorite part about teaching in a pre-k program was that at any free moment we were reading a picture book to them. Books were perfect when the teachers needed something for the kids to concentrate on during snack time, when they were waiting for others to finish washing hands after art, or if a parent or sitter was late picking them up. I found myself reading several books on a daily basis. 

It was extremely beneficial to be able to sit down with kids and observe first hand how they reacted to different kinds of stories, characters, colors, textures, you name it. I tried my best to absorb these experiences and boil things down to the main elements that young kids react to: bright colors, simple design, a catch phrase, a character talking directly at them, and a way to physically interact with the story. "Don't Push the Button!" came out of me trying to create the most fun book experience possible using these elements.

I feel like the best proof that this works is this video that a fan sent to my publisher: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuzamora/9459614238/

The interactive part of the book was very much inspired by the teaching philosophy of where I worked, the Church Street School of Music & Art in New York City. Being physically engaged with the activity is crucial for a student at this young age. Every song that the kids learn has accompanying hand gestures. The gestures help them learn the words and vice versa. In art class we are constantly making the student verbalize the different materials and textures they encounter. I feel like the experience is better solidified in the child’s mind if there are more than one of the senses are being engaged. 

Win a copy of Don't Push the Button
The publisher has generously offered to give away a copy of the book to a resident in the US or Canada.  
Just leave a comment below by 11:00 pm EST (October 23, 2013) indicating who you would like to read this book with.  A winner will be chosen randomly.