Chris Haughton knows the magic ingredients needed to create a winning picture book; one which appeals to adults as much as it does to children. He used them in A Bit Lost, and they appear again in Oh No, George!
Upon reading the first two pages of this book, I was already recalling one of my daughter’s favorite lines, “Yes mum, I promise I’ll be good at the shops today.” Chris has created a character who children can relate to. A character whose desire for joy and pleasure outstrips the need to be good, but who is also accustomed to instant remorse. My toddler can certainly relate to the main character, as can I, and most people on the planet probably. Oh No, George! is an amusing read for anyone who has ever given into temptation, despite desperately wanting to be good.
And that, I believe, is Chris Haughton’s gift. He knows how to create entertaining picture books that make light of human nature. Oh No, George! is about a dog who would love to please his owner, Harris. If only he weren’t faced with so many temptations.
Harris leaves George’s home alone. Once Harris leaves, George thinks to himself, ‘I hope I’ll be good’, and instantly the reader feels a protective affection for George, hoping too that he doesn’t get into any mischief.
Although promising to be good, temptation proves too strong for poor George. Do you blame him, for being left alone in a house with a cake, a cat, and a flower pot?
Chris Haughton is wonderful at building tension and creating effective page-turners. Upon each temptation that George faces, the reader is asked, ‘What will George do?’ Then the page is turned to reveal the aftermath.
George does eat the whole cake, chase the cat around the house and dig at the soil; ruining the house in the process. The before and after end papers will show you just how much damage George has caused. (I hope I haven’t given too much away. The story is called Oh No, George after all)
Intrinsic remorse sets in as soon as Harris arrives home. George had wanted to be good. With a tear in his eye (as if we weren’t already smitten by George), George works out what he needs to do. Give Harris his favorite toy of course.
Harris accepts this apologetic gesture and takes George for a walk where he manages to walk past a cake, a cat, and some lovely soil. But, can he resist the delicious-smelling rubbish bin? You and your children will have to work that one out for yourselves.
Chris’s illustrations, again, are of bright, electric, and appealing colors. The majority of the illustrations appear on a white background, which makes the orange pages effectively emotive. Already connected to George, when we see an orange page, we feel a sense of alarm or panic for him. The use of orange almost acts like the climatic music we would hear in a feature film.
It is at these orange pages that, as readers, we join in the story-telling with a sing-song delivery of ‘Oh No, George!’
With two out of two, Chris Haughton is one author/illustrator you want to be looking out for in the future. Oh No, George! took Chris two years to complete. My Little Bookcase is hoping we don’t have to wait that long to read his next book. (You can read about the creation of Oh No, George! here)
AND ALSO VISIT MY LITTLE BOOKCASE.
Book Details:
By Chris Haughton
ISBN: 978-1406332254
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Walker Books, March 2012
Suitable for ages 2+
