100 books like Don't Push the Button!

A more modern example of the writer as a character in his own novel, borrowing pieces of his own life and weaving them into something more. It is so polished that it is hard to believe it was the first novel. And so personal, in the way it borrows from Foer’s family history (or seems to), that it gives the reader that distinctive shiver of fiction that threatens to burst through the confines of a novel into something like truth—realism that verges on reality.

I tried to weave my own history into my book in a similar way; this book probably had something to do with that.

One of my favorite characters in this middle-grade mystery has always been Chris Theodorakis, the teen boy with an unnamed neurological condition that confines him to a wheelchair and, for the most part, to his house.

Even if he can’t leave home—and even if people often look away from him when he does—Chris plays a key role in solving the mystery at the heart of the book by being a keen observer of everything that passes in front of his window. I love how this novel depicts Chris’s inner world to young readers, including his awareness of how his condition affects others’ perceptions.

More importantly, it shows how much people with disabilities and illnesses still have to offer. 

You're drawing, you're painting, you're doing whatever you do – you're making things that weren't there before. You're creating images, you're creating visual stories. Sometimes creation is a thrill, and sometimes it's a bizarre disorienting struggle. Nobody expresses the creative life quite like Mr.Earbrass (and Edward Gorey). Is it a how-to book? No. Is it a how-not-to book? It's not really that either. It's a story about an eccentric novelist crafting his latest book. I give this weird little storybook as a gift to artist and writer friends all the time. Everyone I've given it to just raves about it.

Shrek! was a book before it was ever a wildly successful film franchise, but the book bears almost no resemblance to the movies.

Yes, William Steig’s ogre is both vile and reviled, and he has a donkey for a friend, but the story itself is very straightforward, detailing Shrek’s rampage across the countryside on his way to meet a “stunningly ugly princess” with whom he can live “horribly ever after.”

Steig had been a celebrated New Yorker cartoonist for almost four decades when he produced his first children’s book in 1968. He wrote and drew Shrek! when he was in his early 80s. He breaks the cardinal rule of using simple language, but makes up for it with fun-to-read-aloud choices in vocabulary and sentence structure, such as “The irascible dragon was preparing to separate Shrek from his noggin.”

I’m not usually big on celebrity authors, but this story made me feel like the author really didn’t enjoy reading when he was growing up.

It’s simple and silly and, ultimately, a great way to convince non-readers to get into reading. And hey, by the end of the book, you’ve realized you’ve read a book about not wanting to read a book…how neat is that?

I adore Jennifer Weiner’s witty, conversational writing style and relatable, three-dimensional characters. With In Her Shoes, Weiner captures the essence of two completely different sisters who are barely on speaking terms. She does it deftly, her characters nuanced and believable, exposing their many flaws and frailties. 

I love this book because it helped me see my own sister in a new light. In the book, the sisters’ actions are so realistic (verbal brutality, sniping, home truths) that I felt guilty about how I’d treated my sister over the years. And yes, I rang her several times whilst reading it, and I bought her a copy the following week. Highly recommended.

This book is NOT about telling the truth—well, not at first glance, anyway. And because the author is a little sneaky in his presentation, he caught me…hook, line, and sinker. Klassen, author/illustrator extraordinaire, pulls me into the story, daring me to turn the page and see the fate of the thieving main character. What I didn’t expect, though, was the betrayal from a “trusted” source.

Learning who can be trusted to be honest is almost as hard as learning to be honest ourselves. I’ve experienced that lesson a few times in my life—and I’d rather not learn it again. This story makes me laugh and think. It is highly recommended for those who like a good lesson hidden in the weeds. (For the record, I do not want any of these characters to run for office.) 

This is a seriously funny book full of great dialogue. It’s also a great premise…the hero who makes a bet with his friend to sleep with said friend’s very cranky ex-girlfriend.

Min has just been recently dumped by a man she didn’t love, but she’s not in the mood to deal with any man’s ****. Cal is stupidly handsome, successful, and charming, but he needs to be brought down a peg or ten. This is opposites attract romance with lots of heart!

In 1985, back when I had only one job at a time, we bought our first house, a 70-year-old, two-story monster built back when it was in the good part of town. The next Saturday evening, I heard something and investigated.

The guy next door was leaning back in a chair, his feet propped on the porch rail, sipping a glass of iced tea, and listening to a radio show. And thus, I discovered Garrison Keillor and Lake Wobegon. 

I recognized the people. I grew up with them in Fred, Texas. They hang out at the Sidetrack Tap and the Chatterbox Café. They shop at Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery, and the women get their hair done at the Curl Up and Dye.

The first chapter is written in a style I call Midwestern stream of consciousness. Read it and you’ll know whether you want to read the rest. I read… show more.

In this book, three thieves make a plan to dig a tunnel to rob a bank, and I just love a mischievous picture book topic.

The art is so clever because we can see where the thieves are digging and the hilarious mistakes they have made as they end up in places that are definitely not the bank. The art is so charming and the digging teacher is perfection.