Warning: Humor Outside the Box- Marcie Colleen

The summer season is usually known for the blockbuster hit—highly anticipated movies that contain action, adventure, and suspense which are sure to entertain the masses.

Well, let me introduce to you to what I think is the children’s literature blockbuster hit of summer 2013--complete with monkeys and mischief!

That’s right!  Summer might be winding down…but summer reading is still going strong.

Warning: Do Not Open This Book! by Adam Lehrhaupt, illustrated by Matthew Forsythe will be released August, 27th by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman and is sure to turn story time into giggle time. I mean, who can resist a book whose very title is a dire warning?

Few things are more exciting to a child than breaking the rules…and getting away with it. 

To engage in mildly risky behavior evokes giggles in a child who is protected all day and night. Testing boundaries and pushing them are a part of every childhood--Lehrhaupt and Forsythe turn this idea on its head.

I can remember, as a child, turning the pages of There’s a Monster at the End of this Book knowing that there would most definitely be a monster at the end of the book yet not being able to turn away or stop reading.  I was glued. 

The most exciting part was that I was part of the action.  Grover was talking right to me. 

Of course, after the first read, I knew exactly who the monster at the end of the book was (I promise, no spoilers here…get the book if you don’t know it).  So my reading took on a different tone.  I read it and turned those pages, gleefully defying Grover.  I was an active participant and I knew something Grover didn’t.  It was empowering. 

So, why shouldn’t we open Lehrhaupt’s Warning: Do Not Open This Book!?  The narrator tells the reader right away: “you don’t want to let the monkeys out.”

Of course, most readers won’t be able to resist the urge to turn the pages.  I couldn’t. 

The result is an escalating melee, complete with monkeys of many kinds, toucans and even a giant alligator. In addition to causing overall mayhem, these mischievous creatures even take over the job of the illustrator!  Be warned.

Just when things get truly out of control, Lehrhaupt invites the readers to be part of the solution by setting a banana trap and catching the monkeys back in the book.

My inner child just delights at such fun and humor.  And my writer self just marvels at how a flat two-dimensional book can hold three-dimensional fun.

While at the annual SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles this past month I heard that a lot of editors are looking for books that are “outside the box.”  I can only conclude that this is the brilliance of Warning: Do Not Open This Book!

Congrats to Adam Lehrhaupt and Matthew Forsythe on their summer blockbuster.  What a splashy debut.  Now, everyone go buy the book and giggle your way to defying the rules!