The Good for Nothing Button!

 The third Elephant & Piggie Like Reading book is out: The Good for Nothing Button! by Charise Mericle Harper. Red Bird and Blue Bird see Yellow Bird who has a button. What does it do they ask. Nothing says Yellow Bird and he demonstrates, nothing happens. Blue Bird wishes to try pushing the button. He pushes it and is surprised. Surprise is not nothing! Red Bird tries, but is not surprised, but then is sad because she wasn't. Sad is not nothing! Yellow Bird is frustrated with his pals. A button cannot make you sad. Blue Bird tries again, this time he is surprised again. The button makes them happy. Yellow bird is frustrated, the button does NOTHING! He presses the button again and again. Does it make him mad? Or calm? Or icky? No, the button makes funny. He likes being funny. The three birds press the button and frolic until they are exhausted, then head off to do more nothing. Elephant & Piggie introduce the book and end it with Gerald wanting to push a button, the only available looking one is Piggie's nose. She is im-press-ed.

All the words in the book are in speech balloons. the fonts are large and well spaced making it easier for beginning readers. The entire story is told using less than 75 different words. If your child does not know the words button or nothing, they surely will by the end of the book. They will laugh, too.

 The Sonoma County Library has twelve copies.