Small Readers: The good for nothing button by Charise Mericle Harper

I've been following the new Elephant and Piggie Like Reading series with interest. I had reservations about The Cookie Fiasco, but thoroughly approved of We are growing! Now Charise Mericle Harper joins the crowd of Elephant and Piggie-inspired readers.

A lot of people have hailed this as a sly nod to the fidget-spinner craze (now over, at least in my town). Yellow Bird has something cool. It is a button! A red button! What does it do? Nothing! Blue Bird presses the button and it does...nothing. Red Bird presses the button and it does...nothing. But does the button really do nothing? Blue Bird has some thoughts about that. Maybe the button really can do something - asides from give everyone a good laugh!

Harper's bright, cheerful colors and playful shapes are a good match for an easy reader. The vocabulary is simple and bold, white text against colored speech balloons. The art is simple but humorous and doesn't require too much combined effort from early readers to follow while they decode the words.

Verdict: While the fidget-spinner craze is over, the love for Elephant and Piggie continues and this is sure to be a popular addition to the new series.

ISBN: 9781484726464; Published 2017 by Disney-Hyperion; Purchased for the library