Don't Push the Button!

The entire premise is a rule being broken repeatedly and cheerfully. Larry the monster tells readers not to push the big red button — and then the book makes it impossible not to. Kids shake the book, rub Larry's belly, shout colors, and watch Larry multiply and change in delightful chaos with every push. Bill Cotter's USA Today bestseller with over one million copies sold works because it makes toddlers active co-creators rather than passive listeners, which is electric in a group read-aloud setting. Atlanta Parent called it 'a winner for reading aloud to a group' and that tracks — this is a book that gets louder and more fun the more children pile in. The honest caveat is that the novelty fades on repeat reads for older preschoolers, and the plot is entirely the gimmick. But for ages two through five, that gimmick is very, very good.