Beautiful Oops!

Adorable book. Very entertaining! Teaches that so-called mistakes leads to original artwork and lots of innovation.

Wonderful book! Makes you view things just a bit differently. Great for all ages.

Just the coolest book. Great message, but also just so cool.

Got for my perfectionistic 4 year old daughter. She often gets frustrated practicing writing, drawing/coloring, folding laundry, etc. because it's "not perfect". At first she didn't even want to read the book. She saw it and immediately said "why is it like that", "I don't want it". After reading it she started to appreciate it, but it did take time. Definitely a good book for kids who struggle with trying to do everything perfectly.

These books are wonderful reads to start before my elementary art class projects. Love them.

I have to say hands down, this is one of the best books I own. I read this book and through it was amazing. This book is all about mistakes. Not only that, it leads to greater and deeper discussions. For example when I first opened this book for a group of kids to the torn paper, I asked them what they through and what they would do. The response was amazing. Of course it was only the first page so as the book went on, they reaction got stronger and the kids started to answer on a deeper level. I also showed this to an adult. Okay it was a few adults but this book has lead to many philosophical discussions. I have to say I like this book so much, I showed it to many educators and ordered ti for a few of them as well. This book is amazing. The pictures are nice and it is all about beautifying a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes but the questions is what we do with our mistakes. For a child, seeing an alligator from a torn piece of paper is simple and easy for them to understand. An adult on the other hand might see a coffee spill as an expression of the mind. I know this book is for kids up to the age of seven, but like I mentioned previously, I read it to kids ages 1 and a half to adults over forty. Mind you I only had this book for less then a month and the response is amazing. Sorry for the long review but when I feel really passionate about something I get carried away. Bottom line, if you are going to read this book from beginning to end as just a picture book then that is all you will see but if you start thinking and talking, this book is so much more. I just love this book.

I knew this book was pure gold when my nine month old sat down and looked through it entirely on her own for a full 45 minutes without tearing a single thing; cooing and babbling. She was so captured by the illustrations and creativity...I was amazed. Never has she spent 45 minutes independently focused solely on one item until 'Beautiful Oops'. I have purchased this book for every single expecting mother I know and will continue to purchase it for 1st birthday's, showers, christmas, etc. Not only does it contain a wonderful message for little ones about the importance of being able to make a mistake and see the beauty in it; but it is an entertaining read for adults as well and will have parents laughing along. My whole family now teases about this book any time my little one spills, makes a mess, breaks something, etc. (so in other words, a lot) and my daughter probably spends at least ten minutes a day looking through it on her own, she never grows tired of it. Thank you Barney Saltzberg for writing such a refreshingly imaginative children's story with such a heart warming, hilarious message that just so happens to be a fantastic reminder for weary Mom's and Dad's everywhere! We cherish this book.

In a nutshell: This little little board book is slightly more sophisticated than your average board book… which we have generally grown out of except for Sandra Boynton’s Happy Birthday Pookie which just gets funnier and funnier every time you read it. The Oops book helps you visualize how any mess-up can be turned into something new. Paper tears and stains and holes and folds can be turned into frogs and penguins and all sorts of neat things if you just use your creative noggin. The execution of this book in cardboard helps to better deliver this message with tactile flaps and folds and holes and a telescoping view-finder page that takes five minutes to turn. Yesterday my three-year-old came to me, fit to be tied, because his brother had drawn a sun in the corner of his picture. It was “wuined!” And I said, “I bet you can turn that sun into something cool. Go find the Beautiful Oops book for inspiration.” And get this: he actually ran to find the book and started looking through it for ideas and stopped crying and left me to clean-up the kitchen alone. Beautiful miracle. Families can talk about: What can you do if your brother accidentally steps on your drawing? Which writing instrument do we choose if we want the ability to erase? How many other letters can you turn an ‘i’ into? Who makes mistakes? Do grown-ups make mistakes? What could we say if we see a friend getting frustrated? What are other words for mistake? Accident? Should you apologize for accidents? Was drawing on your brother’s paper a mistake or an accident or both? Theoretically, what does a sincere apology sound like? Theoretically…