Ok Go

Everyone loves nice clean air, but look at all the cars "GO!" There are many of them. Some are small, some are large, some have only one passenger, while others have five, but they all are spewing out noxious emissions into the air. There are all kinds of cars. Puff, puff, puff! Clouds of cough, cough emissions are coming out their exhaust systems! "Gogogogogogogogogogogoggo . . . UH-OH! STOP!" "Waste less, Jess, Catch a ride, Clyde Don't pollute, man-in-a-suit Roller-skate Kate Use your feet, Pete Share, Clare Save the planet, Janet . . . " This is a book with a "minimalist" style text with very few words that carries a very large message to children and adults alike about becoming conscious about the destruction of our environment. The collage art work, made from recycled materials," is very busy and oddly appealing. In the back of the book are little sidebars that talk about recycling, conserving resources and how children can help. There are also additional recommended book and web site resources. Remember, "turn off the lights when you leave a room!"

I love the artistry with which Carin Berger uses scraps of paper to create this magical book. You can read it quickly, or spend a lot of time looking at each page decoding the images. My 9 year old said, "It looks like paper, but it doesn't seem like paper, but it really is paper. It's cool."

Reviewed by Cayden (age 4 1/2) and Max (age 2 1/2) Aures and Mom for Reader Views (6/09) "OK Go" is a book full of interesting, whimsical collages. She states at the end that "The collages in this book are made with recycled materials: found papers, magazine, ticket stubs, old letters, and newspapers were used in the art." My children enjoyed looking at all of the different patterns and details and spent a long time exploring the book. The text is simply the word "Go!" for the first part of the book, but then everything comes to an abrupt halt and alternatives and greener ways of living are presented. My children liked the art in the book so much that they now want to make collages of their own out of old magazines, etc. Cayden: "The pictures in this book are really cool. I want to take some things out of the paper recycling bin and cut it up to make some pictures. That would be fun! I liked the stuff they said to do in the book. We do a lot of it already. I want to look at the pictures some more!" Max: "I liked the pictures of the cars with the people and dogs in them. I want to make some too!" "OK Go" by Carin Berger is a fun read.

This is a wonderful book that is as much a delight to the eye as it is to the sensibilities. There is something for children of all ages so it is my new default baby and toddler gift! It's a book children will grow with and keep coming back to.

Ring, ring! Who's calling? I think it's Caldecott! Carin Berger's timing couldn't be better for the release of OK GO. With "reduce, reuse and recycle" on everyone's mind, her playful praise of being kind to the earth will encourage young children to go green. Berger's bright, intricate collage had us mesmerized. The book begins with whimsical characters driving a fleet of cars: "GO!" My kids had fun pointing out how some of the cars' wheels were buttons and some were clocks. There's gizmos-a-plenty! Every page is a delight to the eye, with fun things to discover. Berger uses recycled paper--images from catalogs, magazines, old ticket stubs--to create her art so it's like a treasure hunt. (Try to find her daughter's name Thea hidden in the book.) With each page turn, more crazy cars and puffs of exhaust appear. The once azure background turns to steel blue, then gray, then fades out to black. "UH-OH!" The cars come to a screeching halt and a character declares that she knows! She knows what? Open the gatefold and the characters perform random acts of green-ness. "Use it again, Jen." "Plant a tree, Marie." The cute rhymes of thoughtful ways to help the earth gave us the giggles ("Use your feet, Pete.") Even though this is a short book, it gave us lots of cool things to look at...and lots of things to think about, too! OK GO is another gem from Carin Berger and not to be missed.