Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World) by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Dan Santat

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.

Reviewed from library copy.