SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • *Best New Books*
    • Annual Best Lists
  • Reviews
    • One Star Review
    • Nonfiction
    • Toon Reviews
  • Articles
    • Authors
    • Link Du Jour
  • Covers
    • Covering the Newbery
    • Cover Curiosity
    • Unfortunate Covers
  • News
    • Books on Film
    • Morning Notes
  • Newsletter

July 5, 2018 by Travis Jonker

Wreck This Picture Book!

July 5, 2018 by Travis Jonker   3 comments

Don’t write in them. Don’t tear the pages. Don’t eat them. These are a few of the accepted “rules” of picture books, right?

But some books don’t follow these rules. And we love them for it.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

I’ll share a few books that intentionally flaunt the rules, but I know there are more out there – let me know what I missed in the comments.

9781554532896_a93f8

Title: Have I Got a Book for You! by Mélanie Watt

How It’s Wrecked: In a last ditch effort by the main character to get the reader to buy the book, he pulls out the “You break it, you buy it” move, revealing an intentionally torn last page.

9780399247491

Title: The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

How It’s Wrecked: The story is about a book eating boy. To illustrate the point, the back cover has a chomp out of it.

Let Me Finish

Let Me Finish 1

Title: Let Me Finish! by Minh Lê, illustrated by Isabel Roxas

How It’s Wrecked: In order to escape the horde of story spoilers, the main character tears through the page to escape.

9780316222587_746a8

Title: A Perfectly Messed-Up Story by Patrick McDonnell

How It’s Wrecked: Peanut butter, fingerprints, marker – a perfectly happy story keeps getting interrupted by a not-very-neat reader.

Battle Bunny

Title: Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett, illustrated by Matt Myers

How It’s Wrecked: Presented as a gift book from grandmother, a kid takes Birthday Bunny and completely changes the story – pictures and all – with a pencil and wild imagination.


Credits:

Thank you Keri Smith for the blog title inspiration.

Thank you Laurel Snyder for inspiring this post.

Filed under: Articles

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

February 2023

Notes on January 2023

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

Your 2023 Caldecott Comment Card

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

Who's Published the Most Newbery Winners in the Last 25 Years?

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

2023 Caldecott Medal Predictions

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

The Ten Most Eye-Opening Caldecott Books of All Time

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Sydney Taylor Blog Tour: THE TOWER OF LIFE by Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Who’s In Rabbit’s House by Verna Aardema, ill. Leo and Diane Dillon

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Akim Aliu Dreamer | This Week’s Comics

by Lori Henderson

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

I Spy Something Awkward, a guest post by James Ponti

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Four Magical Middle Grade Novels for 'Encanto' Fans| Read-Alikes

Four Breezy YA Summer Reads for Fans of 'Along for the Ride' on Netflix | Read-Alikes

Sports-Forward Books for Fans of the Movie "Space Jam: A New Legacy" | Read-Alikes

Four YA Romances for Teens Watching 'The Summer I Turned Pretty'

Three Action-Packed Adventures for Fans of 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Margie Culver says

    July 6, 2018 at 2:39 pm

    How about Melanie Watt’s Chester books? Or Wait! No Paint by Bruce Whatley Or Chewy Louie by Howie Schneider

  2. Esme says

    July 6, 2018 at 2:40 pm

    The Queen of Colors by Jutta Bauer invites the reader to draw on the last page.

  3. Charlotte Snyder says

    July 7, 2018 at 12:16 pm

    There is a difference between flaunt (to display ostentatiously) and flout (to disregard deliberately). You meant flout here. And I loved your selections!

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Author/Illustrator Blogs

    • Erin Stead Illustration
    • Hey, Rabbit!
    • James Preller's Blog
    • MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS
    • Mo Willems Doodles
    • The Scop
  • Book Blogs I Like

    • A Book and a Hug
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • A Kids Book a Day
    • A Year of Reading
    • Abby (the) Librarian
    • Awful Library Books
    • Becky’s Book Reviews
    • Better Book Titles
    • Book-A-Day Almanac
    • Bookends
    • books4yourkids.com
    • bookshelves of doom
    • Bottom Shelf Books
    • Calling Caldecott
    • Caustic Cover Critic
    • Chad C. Beckerman
    • Charlotte’s Library
    • Cheryl Rainfield
    • Chicken Spaghetti
    • CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
    • Collecting Children’s Books
    • Cybils
    • EarlyWord
    • educating alice
    • Finding Wonderland
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Good Show Sir
    • GottaBook
    • Great Kid Books
    • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
    • Hi Miss Julie!
    • Jen Robinson’s Book Page
    • Kidsmomo
    • Maria T. Middleton Design
    • Nerdy Book Club
    • Neverending Search
    • Nine Kinds of Pie
    • One Book, Two Books, Old Books, New Books
    • Out of the Box
    • Oz and Ends
    • PlanetEsme
    • Read Roger
    • Reading Rants!
    • Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
    • sharpread
    • ShelfTalker
    • so tomorrow
    • The Children's Book Review
    • The Miss Rumphius Effect
    • Uncovered Cover Art
    • Waking Brain Cells
    • Watch. Connect. Read.
  • Library Blogs

    • ALSC Blog
    • Blue Skunk Blog
    • librarian.net
    • LISNews
    • Stephen's Lighthouse
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Unshelved
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023