PUSH BUTTON

What little person does not love to push buttons, especially if all those pushed buttons yield fascinating and rewarding effects? Aliki’s young Push-Button boy loves all sorts of buttons: phones, toasters, remotes, water hoses—you name it! In fact, this little guy pushes so many buttons that his pointer finger gets sore, and his bandaged digit has to find other things to do, like playing outside, painting, pounding and, eventually, reading. (In a sweet and apt homage, he’s reading Ashley Bryan’s 1995 picture-book rendition of “What a Wonderful World.”) The bright white background helps the primary colors pop for the lap listeners while the rhyming couplets, with just a few lines per page, make the text easy to memorize. The words for the sounds—FLUP! CLACK! RINGGG! WHOOOSH!—are handwritten in happy colors that will keep younger readers interested in turning the page. Push-Button boy’s life, with or without a bandage, is one where he is happy, busy and the center of the action. Completely in sync with toddlers. (Picture book. 2-5)