In the spirit of Press Here and other inventive books that play with the possibilities of the page turn, this debut from author Adam Lehrhaupt unequivocally warns children to close this book and turn away from it. So... kids won't be able to resist, just to see what their act of rebellion yields.
"Maybe you should put this book back. You don't want to let the monkeys out," the book begins. Matthew Forsythe (My Name Is Elizabeth!) draws a wide-eyed monkey on a sign that says "DANGER." When children inevitably turn the page, they are greeted with, "Why did you turn the page? Didn't you see the warning? Stay on this page. You are safe here." Signs that read "Stop," "Go Back" and "U-Turn," plus barbed wire and orange pylons, suggest that readers proceed at their own risk. On the next page, a monkey appears from stage right ("Oh, no. Now you've done it"); others follow. They parade onto the pages wielding paint cans, tubes of paint and brushes ("What a mess! Naughty monkeys"). While the story warns against impending doom, children will delight in the consequences of each page turn; the monkeys' artwork results in a lush and tropical landscape of gold, forest green and burnt orange. Everything halts due to the entrance of a predator, and it's up to readers to save the naughty monkeys.
Lehrhaupt delivers a brilliant conclusion to this hilarious romp, which involves readers to the very end. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness