Beautiful Oops!

Wonderful preschool story

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.

My 7 year old boy is in 2nd grade where he got introduced to this book. I ordered it for him to have at home and he reads it everyday. It’s a wonderful book with a great message

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

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.

I love it! Young girls I care for were having major issues with perfectionism and crying every time they made a mistake, wanting to throw their papers away and start over - and this book was PERFECT way to talk to them about the topic. I've tried talking to them before to no avail, and this GREATLY improved their attitudes on the subject. They were honestly shocked as I read them the pages, worrying I'd damaged my book and were so shocked the book would REALLY have bent pages on PURPOSE, etc. After, we did an exercise practicing turning my "mistakes" on my pen drawings into something better. Examples: "i'm drawing a sky and ....oops! a stray line", fix by moving the sky line down. Or "oops the right side of my heart is wobbly" fixed by just making a larger heart to surround it. "my apple doesn't look like an apple" turns into a glob of paint being poured out of a bucket, and "oops i drew my house's door too big" turns into a house for a giant and jack is climbing the beanstalk into the clouds to reach it!! The girls loved the exercise and coming up with different ways to "fix" the "mistakes", and we often ended up with ideas way more creative than originally planned. Also practiced with crumpled paper -became an antique scroll or a wavy sea for a ship, and a bent page turned into a blanket folded over, etc. I only wish the book included mistakes like these rather than just physical mistakes like holes, rips, crinkles, etc. Maybe a 2nd edition can just expand to include these as well!!! And maybe even have a page for parents to recommend an activity like this, because it worked so much better than I'd even hoped. Also, I got the "board book", which had pages that were thin, shiny cardboard instead of super thick, unbendable cardboard like I was worried about, yet still durable. Probably the best way to showcase the book (vs the paperback) so that the kids can bend the pages and interact with the book without worrying about ripping it.

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

This is a gorgeous book about making the best of what you have, turning negatives into positives, and it's so fun and such a fantastic lesson to teach. It has lots of brilliant flaps and things that my toddler loves to interact with, for example it shows a bent page corner that has been turned into a penguin, or a rolled up ball of paper that's now a sheep. It's a nice length too - maybe about a 5 minute read but feels substantial so it's brilliant if you want a quick bedtime story, and it's solid enough for it to be safe in the hands of a small toddler. The only thing is the ball of paper came off fairly quickly, but once I stuck it back down, we haven't had the problem since. The copy we have was given to us as a gift and we loved it so much, we bought this one to give as a gift. It'll definitely be getting the sequel and really hope it's a book that my kids end up reading to their kids.

Me encantó el diseño y gráficos, el material es grueso y resistente. Muy útil para darle significado creativo a los errores en cualquier edad.

Um dos livros mais lindos que já comprei!

Love the book. Ideas are simple but never gets tiring. Beautiful oops that I stumbled upon this book!

I was given this book & loved the creative detailed artwork/design & simple thought provoking reflection as an adult. Bought 13 copies to give to my ministry teachers as a gift for them.