Beautiful Oops!

I bought Beautiful Oops! to read to my kindergarten students while teaching about having a flexible mindset, and it’s been a great fit. The story is cute, interactive, and shows how every “mistake” can be turned into something beautiful and creative. The kids stay engaged because each page has a fun surprise. My only complaint is the size. It’s more like a board book than a standard picture book, so it’s a little small for reading to a whole class. I use a doc cam, which solves that problem, but if you’re reading to a large group without one, it may be harder for everyone to see. I’d definitely recommend it for parents, teachers, or school counselors working with young children.

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.

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 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.

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.

This is a BEAUTIFUL book - and would make a great gift for someone of really any age. While my 2.5 year old loves it for all the colors and interactivity, I feel like a child who is about to graduate (from first grade, elementary school, middle school, high school, or even college) would love it for both its creativity and for its message that mistakes happen, but they can end up bringing more beauty to our lives if we can look at them the right way. This is so wrong, but it would be a funny gift for a very close friend (with a good/sick sense of humor) having a baby shower for a "surprise" baby... as both she and the baby would love it (for different reasons)...hahahaha :) It is really so cool how the author has taken "mistakes" (ripped paper, spilled ink, etc.) and turned them into such creative, evolving masterpieces. I think it's something worth buying rather than taking out of the library, because you will read it in different ways throughout life and it's really quite inspirational. And cute!

Such a cute book! Teaches kiddos that it’s okay to make mistakes. Very interactive!

I heard another teacher was this and thought it was so cute. I bought one for my special needs class and they were all engaged wondered what the next oops would be.

What a gorgeous book this is!! We love it. Initially purchased after an educational psychologist recommended it for my SEN child. Very interactive. So many tabs to open or look under. Highly recommend for any child in primary school.

The best creative book ❤️❤️❤️

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!

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.